Secular Student Alliance: Atheists, Humanists, Agnostics & Others - News

This Week: Spring 2010 Affiliation Renewal

21-February-2010

This Week:
Spring Affiliation Renewal

Renew Your Group's Affiliation with the Secular Student Alliance

New Leader?
No Longer a Leader?
Let us Know!

It's time for the Secular Student Alliance's Spring 2010 Affiliation Renewal! This is the semiannual survey which we administer to all our student groups in order to make sure you're still alive, see what you've been up to, and find out how we have (or haven't) been able to help.

Every SSA affiliate group is required to complete the Affiliation Renewal in order to remain affiliated with the SSA. (Even if you just affiliated last week!) If I do not receive a renewal form from your group, I will be contacting you to find out what happened! But you can save us both the game of phone tag if you just take the time this week to complete the form.

"Good Without God" a Good Idea? "Yes," says Sharon Moss

2-March-2010

by Sharon Moss

I’ve been around the philosophical block a number of times. As a life-long atheist and an activist with 10 years of group-running experience under my belt, I feel like I’ve heard most of the arguments in our community. I don’t read many books on atheism/humanism/insert-other-labels-here anymore. I almost didn’t even pick up a copy of Greg Epstein’s Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. But I’m glad I did. Epstein covers new ground and provides important, thought-provoking points for the movement.

Release: Controversy Ignited by Atheist Students and Leaders’ Participation in White House Briefing

28-February-2010

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jesse Galef (614) 441-9588 - Jesse [at] secularstudents [dot] org

March, 1 2010

Columbus, Ohio - In the first meeting of its kind, representatives from the Secular Student Alliance and atheist leaders from around the country met in Washington, DC for the Secular Coalition for America's Briefing with the Obama Administration. Over 60 people, sent as delegates of national and local nontheistic organizations from around the country, congregated in the nation’s capital to engage with administration officials on issues concerning the nontheistic community.

Help! Our Flyers Keep Getting Torn Down!

27-February-2010

A vandalized flyer at the University of Chicago, shredded by a key. Others were torn down altogether, had crosses drawn on them, and derogatory comments written in.

I hear from a number of affiliates each semester that the flyers they post for meetings or events are being torn down or vandalized. This is an unfortunate and all-too-common problem, and it's a shame that some people can be so threatened by the mere presence of our groups that they feel the need to prevent interested students from participating.

Frustrations aside, we've put together some strategies that your group can try to alleviate or overcome this problem. Some might work better than others, depending on your campus environment and policies, and we're always happy to hear what happens when you try these ideas.

Review: SSA's 2010 Northern California Leadership Summit

27-February-2010

Jason Cooperrider, president of SHIFT at the University of Utah

by Jason Cooperrider

This past February, I had the pleasure of attending the Secular Student Alliance's Northern California Leadership Summit at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. It was my honor to represent SHIFT (Secular Humanism, Inquiry and Freethought), the secular student group at the University of Utah, as its president and co-founder.

The Secular Student Alliance Interviewed on The Young Turks

23-February-2010

Secular Student Alliance's Communications Director, Jesse Galef, was recently interviewed on the popular and influential talk/internet show The Young Turks. The 7-minute interview covered the controversy sparked by the Secular Coalition for America's policy briefing with the Obama administration and other news of the day.

Watch the interview on The Young Turks' Channel.

Openings for the SSA Board of Directors

21-February-2010

The Secular Student Alliance is looking for dedicated leaders who would like to run for positions on the SSA's Board of Directors! The SSA is a democratic organization and all SSA members are eligible to run for a position on the Board of Directors. Elections take place this May, and board terms are two years long.

Board members are responsible for setting goals and policy for the organization, fundraising, reviewing progress, and promoting SSA. All Board members are expected to participate in fundraising. We are happy to train you to do this, but you must be willing.

This Week: Get Ready to Renew!

13-February-2010

	This Week: Get Ready to Renew!
Affiliation Renewal Preview

Freethinking Healer and Rabble-Rouser Helen Kagin dies at 76

11-February-2010

A beloved freethinking activist, and member of the Secular Student Alliance, passed away on February 17^th, 2010 after a long battle with cancer. Helen worked as a physician in Cincinnati, OH for over thirty years.

I had the pleasure and honor of knowing Helen for just shy of eleven years. The joy, intensity, and brilliance with which she lived her life are totally impossible to capture in words. At Camp Quest Ohio, most of the kids and younger counselors played this vigorous, no-holds-barred version of keep away in the pool with a ball. There was no leader, no ref, no written rules, no score keeping. It just came together organically, summer after summer. With a small handful of exceptions, only the youngest staffers played with any regularity. Well into her seventies, Helen could be counted on to play every time her and the ball were in the pool at the same time.

Atheist Students and Leaders Participate in White House Briefing

8-February-2010

This story originally appeared on Unreasonable Faith on March 1, 2010. Used here with permission.

By Jesse Galef

The atheist movement made a big step last Friday when the Secular Coalition for America arranged a policy briefing with White House officials. A delegation of about 60 nontheists convened in the nation's capital to engage with the administration. I can't repeat what the administration said – these meetings are held off the record – but I can say that I've never felt more proud and optimistic about the political status of atheists.

Secular Student Alliance New England Leadership Summit

1-February-2010

The Secular Student Alliance is proud to announce its New England Leadership Summit, to be held April 16-18, 2010. The summit will be hosted at Harvard University in Boston, MA. This weekend session is a great opportunity for student leaders to fine-tune their group-running skills, meet other leaders from the area, network with local off-campus organizations, and have a great time!

We're excited to be holding this event in conjunction with the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy's award ceremony for the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism, being presented this year to the MythBusters. Join us for the award ceremony at a special discounted rate of only $8 when you register through the New England Leadership Summit.

Get Information On:
          Registration
          Housing
          Travel Grants
          Program & Schedule
          MythBusters on Humanism
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Registration

Secular Student Alliance Bylaws updated

1-February-2010

On 1/5/2010 the Secular Student Alliance Board of Directors voted to make the following change to Article 3, Section 6, Part (a) of our Bylaws.

There have been two requirements for being elected to the SSA Board of Directors:

1) Being one of the candidates who gets the most votes. The candidates with the most votes will fill the open slots on the Board of Directors.

2) Getting at least a majority of the votes cast.

The Bylaws have been changed so that the second requirement is met with only one third of the votes cast.

Secular Student Alliance offers student registration & travel grants for 2010 American Atheists' convention

30-January-2010

UPDATE: The deadline for travel grants has passed.

The Secular Student Alliance is proud to be partnering with American Atheists by providing student registration for their 2010 convention in Newark, New Jersey April 2-4th, 2010.

Student registration is $75 for full-time students who are members of the Secular Student Alliance ($10/year). Join now! This is different from being a member of a Secular Student Alliance affiliate group. Register now!

A Polite Response to an Impolite Article

29-January-2010

Lucy Gubbins is the president of the Alliance of Happy Atheists, a secular student group at the University of Oregon. In January, their campus newspaper made the strange decision to reprint an anti-atheist screed which had first been published at Portland State University three months earlier. Lucy mobilized her group to respond with polite letters to the editor. Here's the letter she got printed:

Reprinting anti-atheism commentary offensive, lacking balance

Lucy Gubbins, President of the UO Alliance of Happy Atheists

By Lucy Gubbins | President, Alliance of Happy Atheists

Secular Student Alliance Announces New England Leadership Summit

27-January-2010

The Secular Student Alliance is excited to announce the dates and location for the 2010 New England Leadership Summit! We'll be gathering for this three-day event at Harvard University from April 16-18, 2010!

The SSA Leadership Summits are a gathering of student leaders, active volunteers, and off-campus supporters from an entire region. Events include inspiring keynote presentations, training sessions from leaders of the freethought movement, how-to presentations from your fellow student leaders, and hands-on best practices from SSA staff. It's a great opportunity to network with student leaders in your area and get some face time with the SSA staff.