peace - love - reason

Jill Of All Trades

Heeeey we're in the news!

27.9.09 by literaghost

Well, by "we" I mean "the Secular Student Alliance group I've been trying to start," and by "the news" I mean "part of an article in the campus newspaper," but still.

I've typed up the relevant bits below for your reading pleasure, since our newspaper doesn't seem to have an online version (?!).

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New clubs to encourage student participation
From photography to atheism, a range of organizations started this term at Centre promise additional alternatives.

By HANNAH MUSSER | CENTO WRITER

With each new school year at Centre comes a series of new clubs as well. This year, the Secular Student Alliance, the Chinese Club, and the Photography Club have been added to the list of campus organizations. Each new addition to the college’s list, which already included over 100 organizations, will add new flavors and opportunities to campus.
The Secular Student Alliance (SSA). [Miz L.], a sophomore, heard of the SSA through an atheistic blog online and thought it would be a good addition to Centre’s religious offerings. The group itself is a national organization with affiliate chapters on campuses around the world. Centre’s group, once officially recognized, will be called Centre AHA, which tentatively stands for Centre Agnostics, Humanists, and Atheists. The relationship between the SSA and its satellites is a neutral one, with the SSA providing only the resources needed to run the group, not any kind of constitution governing the group.
“Its purpose is to provide a safe space for non-theists,” [Miz L.] said. She goes on to add that the group would be a good counterbalance to all of the faith-based organizations already on campus. [Miz L.] wants to “create a positive, active voice for non-theists that could broaden the dialogue between religious groups and non-theists.”
The Secular Student Alliance would achieve this “positive, active voice” by teaming up with other organizations to complete community service projects without proselytizing. “We want to show that we are not bad people,” [Miz L.] said of the non-theists on campus.
Other activities the group hopes to host are movie showings and book discussions. [Miz L.] encourages everyone interested in the Centre AHA to attend meetings. [Miz L.] invites everyone, including theists, to come “broaden the dialogue,” but she points out that this is not a “debate or an argument” between theists and non-theists. Centre AHA does not seek to attack any religious organizations, but instead wants to let the two sides understand each other more fully. If you are interested in attending a meeting, please e-mail centre@secularstudents.org for meeting dates and mailing lists. Centre AHA currently seeks a faculty advisor as well.
[…]
[The article then goes on to talk about the Chinese Club and the Photography Club.]


On a random note, here's something that's been making me happy lately (courtesy of Skepchick): 


Enjoy.

 - Miz L.

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