Secular Student Alliance - Blog

Secular Student Alliance Board Member Matthew LaClair Published in L.A. Times

27-April-2008

Secular Student Alliance board member Matthew LaClair is the author of an Op-Ed piece in today's edition of the LA Times. In it, he talks about the recent controversy where a nationally used American Government textbook was found to contain several mistakes and conservative bias. Matthew, with the help of the Center for Inquiry, alerted the publishers of the book (along with the media) about these problems. The full report can be found on the Center's website.

Matthew urges students to not remain silent when these misstatements occur. He writes:

What is most distressing is not that some public school teachers preach their religion, or that some authors put politics ahead of education. It is that it is so rare for anyone to call them on it. This text is widely used. Yet to my knowledge, no one has challenged these incorrect and misleading statements.

Fiction for Fiction

19-April-2008

From friendlyatheist.com

A few weeks ago, Jennifer at Purdue University threw out the idea of having people swap their Bibles (or other religious texts) for novels: Fiction for Fiction.

The event took place recently and Jennifer gave us an update:

We ended up receiving a bunch of books, mainly Bibles or other Christian spiritual books. We also had people turn in a Book of Mormon, the Tanakh, and two Bhagavad Gitas. While we did get a lot of glares or confused looks from people passing by, we also got a ton of smiles. It was great to have people come up and thank us for having the event (since Purdue almost always has people passing out Bibles or preaching). A lot of theists (mostly Christian) came up to ask what we were doing. Once we explained that we were trying to promote critical thinking of what you read (and that we weren’t burning the books), many of them supported our message. On our second day we were actually set up next to a Baptist group handing out free popcorn, but they were the nicest of all.

SSA eMpirical No. 28 - Making Headlines!

16-April-2008

Secular Student eMpirical

04/17/2008

In this issue:

Save yourself some clicking and read the all-on-one-page version of this month's eMpirical.

Atheism and Politics get Complicated in Illinois

15-April-2008

As a resident of Illinois, eMpirical Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth R.A. Liddell has been paying close attention to the recent controversy surrounding Illinois representative Monique Davis and atheist activist Rob Sherman. Here, she explains what's been happening and outlines a few things we can all learn.

Rob Sherman, atheist activist

Welcome New Affiliates!

15-April-2008

The SSA is growing faster than ever! Since the beginning of March, we've gained thirteen new affiliate groups. Let's welcome our new members!

TCNJ Secular Student Alliance
THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: TCNJ(AT)secularstudents(DOT)org
610 Cromwell Hall
Ewing, NJ 08628                Affiliated on 3/4/2008

University of Melbourne Secular Society (UMSS)
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Website: union.unimelb.edu.au/clubs/special-interest#sec
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: umsecsociety(AT)gmail(DOT)com
119 Wallace Rd
Christmas Hall, VIC 3775            Affiliated on 3/5/2008

Atheist Student Organization
SACRAMENTO STATE
Website: groups.yahoo.com/group/ASO_CSUS/
Group E-Mail: aso_csus(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Sacramento, CA 95814            Affiliated on 3/6/2008

Secular Student Alliance
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
Website: udel.edu/stu-org/ssa/
Group E-Mail: frank(AT)udel(DOT)edu
Secular Student Alliance
218 Trabant University Center
Newark, Delaware 19716            Affiliated on 3/7/2008

Scientific Understanding and Reason Enrichment (SURE)
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: SUREucsb(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
6750 El Colegio Rd. #248
Goleta, CA 93117                      Affiliated on 3/11/2008

Reason Inquiry Skepticism Empiricism (RISE)
CITRUS COLLEGE
Website: www.myspace.com/rise_citrusfreethinkers
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: citruscollege(AT)secularstudents(DOT)org
4922 N. Enid Ave.
Covina, CA 91722                Affiliated on 3/12/2008

Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics @ Stanford
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: stanford(AT)secularstudents(DOT)org
609 Escondido Rd Apt 226
Stanford, CA 94305-7021            Affiliated on 3/16/2008

Campus Atheists and Agnostics
MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY - MANKATO
Website: www.mnsu.edu/supersite/directories/rso/details.php?name=Campus+Atheists+and+Agnostics
Facebook Page
Mankato, MN 56001                Affiliated on 3/24/2008

Guelph Skeptics
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
Website: guelphskeptics.freethoughtassociation.ca
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: guelphskeptics(AT)gmail(DOT)com
36 Brentwood Dr.
Guelph, Ontario N1H5M7            Affiliated on 3/26/08

Humanist Student Association
INDIANA UNIVERSITY - BLOOMINGTON
Facebook Page
Bloomington, IN 47401                Affiliated on 4/2/2008

Secular Penn
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Group E-Mail: pennfreethought(AT)googlegroups(DOT)com
4002 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19104                Affiliated on 4/2/2008

Atheist & Agnostic Alliance
University of London-Royal Holloway
Facebook Page
Group E-Mail: adrianhayter(AT)gmail(DOT)com
B1B01 Wedderburn
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX                Affiliated on 4/2/2008

Secular Student Organization
DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Website: www.dsusso.org
Group E-Mail: derekhenkels(AT)gmail(DOT)com
410 SW 1st St
Madison, SD 57042                    Affiliated on 4/3/2008

Speakers Bureau Spotlight: Andy Thomson

15-April-2008

Charlottesville, Virginia

Dr. Thomson is a psychiatrist in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has a private practice of general psychiatry and forensic psychiatry as well as serving as a staff psychiatrist at the University of Virginia's Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy and the Counseling and Psychological Services of the University of Virginia Student Health Services. Born in Washington, D.C. he received his B.A. degree from Duke University and his M.D. from University of Virginia School of Medicine. Robert Wright's book The Moral Animal introduced him to the emerging discipline of evolutionary psychology. It is that new lens of evolutionary psychology that informs his recent work on a comprehensive psychological formulation of suicide terrorism.

Secular Student Alliance Board Member Matthew LaClair Challenges High School Textbook

14-April-2008

UPDATE #1: Matthew LaClair will be presenting at the 2008 Secular Student Alliance conference. This conference is being held jointly with the conference of the American Humanist Association and the world congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. The Secular Student Alliance is offering travel grants to students who wish to attend the conference. The deadline for these grants is April 21st.

UPDATE #2: Secular Student Alliance Board Member Matthew LaClair Published in L.A. Times

Once more, high school senior Matthew LaClair, now beginning a term on the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) board of directors, has attracted the attention of national media by challenging some aspect of his public school education.

LaClair, 18, a student at Kearny High School in New Jersey, was disturbed by the way his Advanced Placement government text American Government presented such topics as global warming and the separation of church and state. He sought and received support from science and legal experts, whose criticisms are being evaluated by publisher Houghton Mifflin.

During his junior year LaClair recorded his history teacher for several days as he proselytized to the class and preached salvation through Jesus. The teacher was eventually disciplined, but LaClair was treated harshly by some community members and fellow students.

"I'm proud that Matthew is on the SSA Board of Directors," said SSA chair Hemant Mehta. "He represents the perfect example of what student activists can accomplish when they have the courage speak up."

Help sustain the explosive growth of the secular student movement - and get matching funds until April 11th

4-April-2008

Mobilizing Students for a New Enlightenment
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Talk about ideas seriously.

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The Secular Student Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible in the U.S.

Apr. 3, 2008

It isn’t often that a non-profit leader has the opportunity to report that his organization has grown more than 84% in a single year. But that's exactly what I have the pleasure of doing today. Since this time last year, the campus affiliate base of the Secular Student Alliance has increased 84%, from 70 active groups in 2007 to 129 groups as I write this e-mail.

This phenomenal growth is great news for the SSA – it means we’re reaching previously unimagined heights in our mission to organize, unite, educate, and serve students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human based ethics. But as chair of the board, I realize it also represents a daily challenge for our tiny staff as they struggle to meet the needs of a much larger than expected crop of freethinking young adults preparing to move into leadership roles in business, government, education, and culture.

The SSA must raise $30,000 by June 1st to keep this momentum going. And we have a $4,000 head start toward our goal, thanks to the generosity of two donors. But there is another exciting development, made possible by a third generous supporter.

Every donation that reaches the SSA by April 11th will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $3,000. Your gift can go twice as far, just by giving it now.

The $100 that would have covered speaker expenses for one campus group can now be leveraged for a second speaker on a second campus. The $500 that would have funded a regional activist training session for campus leaders can now be cloned in another region of the country.

The matching funds for a $1,250 donation will allow us to hire an intern for an entire summer. (You should see the amazing resumes we've been receiving.) But every gift, large or small, is very noticed, very appreciated, and very carefully spent at the SSA. If you can't support us at one of these levels, please consider an amount that's comfortable for you. Your donation will be precious to us no matter what its size.

Every bit of our work at the SSA is funded by atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other freethinkers who care about secular youth. We are an independent, democratic organization which would not exist except for the generosity and loyalty of our many friends in the freethought movement. Please click one of the donation options in the sidebar by April 11th to take advantage of the matching funds. Thousands of bright, young freethinkers are counting on your support to bring about a more rational future guided by secular values.

With thanks,
Hemant Mehta, Chair
Secular Student Alliance
www.secularstudents.org

P.S. I almost forgot to mention the vital role played by SSA affiliate groups on college campuses. They provide a welcoming and stimulating community for students without supernatural beliefs, some of whom are open about their worldview for the first time in their lives. But there is still so much progress to be made! Please click one of the donation options in the sidebar so we can do more to bring this experience to every freethinking student.

The Blogging of a Secular Lobbyist

4-April-2008

Lori Lipman Brown is Director of the Secular Coalition for America, where she serves as the first Congressional lobbyist representing atheists. She is also a speaker on the SSA's Speaker's Bureau. She writes a weekly blog for The Humanist; we reprint select articles with permission.

Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein on Speaking of Faith

3-April-2008

In the last week of March, American Public Media's program Speaking of Faith featured Harvard University's Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein and humanism. The program is available online and was broadcast on public radio stations nationwide.

In a recent Pew poll, 16 percent of Americans identified themselves as "unaffiliated," meaning atheist, agnostic, or - most prominently - "nothing in particular." Greg Epstein described himself that way until he discovered the tradition of humanism, and is now passionate about sharing an atheist identity driven not by a stance against religion but by positive ethical beliefs and actions.

Rational Response Squad: Kelly's Blog

3-April-2008

Kelly of the Rational Response Squad is writing a year-long series to address theist talking heads in the media. Kelly is a Psychology major, co-host of the RRS Radio show, and has been featured on ABC debating Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. Here, we reprint select articles with permission.

March 12 - Vox Day - "There is no god. Because I'm an asshole."

Secular Coalition for America Points to $30 Million in Federal Tax Money Earmarked for Religious Activities

2-April-2008

The Secular Student Alliance is a founding member of the Secular Coalition for America, the national lobby for atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other nontheistic Americans.

During the appropriations process for fiscal year 2008, Congress passed over 140 earmarks totaling almost $30 million in public funding for overtly religious activities. Americans' tax dollars are already supporting

training programs for evangelical lay ministers
homeless shelters that seek to convert clients to Christianity
colleges whose students must believe in biblical inerrancy

... and the list continues. On April 2nd the Secular Coalition for America delivered letters to all 107 Congress members on its database of constitutionally suspect earmarks, and the Coalition's findings have been provided to those member organizations that engage in litigation (the American Humanist Association and the Freedom From Religion Foundation).

Secular Student Alliance Conference - June 2008

1-April-2008

It's hard for us at Secular Student Alliance Headquarters to believe that it's been almost eleven months since we were at the New Humanism conference at Harvard. In less than two months we're going be at E Pluribus Unum: Reclaiming Humanist Values. This event will simultaneously be the 67th annual conference of the American Humanist Association, the 17th World Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and the 8th annual conference of the Secular Student Alliance. The event will be June 5th through the 8th at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC.

SPEAKERS

Speakers for the event include Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America, Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal.

AWARDEES

Accepting the Humanist of the Year award is U.S. Representative Pete Stark, the first openly nontheistic member in Congress. Accepting the International Humanist Award is author Philip Pullman, author of the best-selling book The Golden Compass, now a major motion picture.

TRAVEL GRANTS

Student registration is only $40 and includes some meals (register today). We are offering $100 and $200 travel grants. The grants are awarded on a rolling basis and will go fast. Apply today for your 2008 conference travel grant! Information on affordable student housing can be found on the conference website.

CAMPUS GROUP BEST AWARDS

At all of our conference, the Secular Student Alliance awards a handful of its affiliate groups for outstanding performance in various areas and we give one group the Best Affiliate award. There are four awards for $300 each and the Best Affiliate award is $500. All the awards come with a nice, shiny plaque. May 1st 2008 is the deadline to apply. Learn more about the awards and apply today.

Richard Dawkins in Madison, WI

29-March-2008

Phil Ferguson is one of the newest members of the Secular Student Alliance's Board of Directors. On March 11, he saw Richard Dawkins speak in Madison, Wisconsin.

Richard Dawkins is on a speaking tour to promote the paperback release of The God Delusion, sponsored in part by the Secular Student Alliance. On March 11th, Mr. Dawkins was in Madison, WI and I only had to drive five hours to see him. I arrived in Madison early to take Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Debbie Goddard from the Center for Inquiry to lunch. Upon my arrival, I was informed that Mr. Dawkins would also be joining us.

Ellery Schempp Speaks at the University of Texas-Arlington

29-March-2008

This article originally appeared in the Feb. 29, 2008 issue of The Shorthorn, and is used by permission.

Article by Jhericca Johnson, The Shorthorn staff

Dr. Ellery Schempp, Senior Partner for Harvard Consulting Group, speaks about religious prayers in school Thursday at the University Center Red River room. Schempp is known for the 1963 Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp, in which school prayer was ruled as unconstitutional. (c) The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran

When Ellery Schempp’s high school required students to read ten Bible verses every morning “to learn valuable moral lessons,” he began to wonder if the students of Abington High School had fewer morals than students everywhere else.

Schempp was the main student involved in the 1963 Abington School District v. Schempp Supreme Court case which declared school-sanctioned Bible reading unconstitutional. He spoke Thursday in the University Center Red River Room to tell the campus community about his experience.

At the event, which was sponsored by Freethinkers of UTA, Schempp told students how the event occurred and his thoughts during the case.

In 1956, Schempp was a student in the Abington School District in Abington, Pennsylvania, and was told to read Bible verses every morning. On the Monday after Thanksgiving break, Schempp decided to bring a copy of the Quran to school and read it instead. His said his decision came from reading the First Amendment of the constitution and his own religious choice — Unitarianism.

“There is nothing in the constitution about the Bible, and there is nothing in the Bible about democracy,” he said. “And the word ‘religion’ is only in the constitution twice — in the First Amendment and the Sixth.”

After bringing the Quran to school and reading it quietly to himself, Schempp stayed seated while his classmates said the Lord’s Prayer and stood up for the Pledge of Allegiance. Immediately, his teacher asked him why he was disobeying.

Once he explained his position, Schempp was sent to the school disciplinarian.

“He told me that there were 1,300 other students following the rule and that it was all a matter of respect,” he said. “He said that he felt like I was being disrespectful.”

Read our other coverage of
Ellery Schempp's case!