When I attended Purdue University, I did my best to avoid The Exponent, the student newspaper. The reporting seemed (more than) a little lacking, the articles were frequently riddled with spelling and grammar errors, and I always tended to be more interested in U.S. politics and world affairs than the latest updates on the ice cream socials hosted by the student organizations. If I did read it, I would immediately flip through to the Letters-to-the-Editor section, which seemed to always… Read more
This bus ad, sponsored by Bus Stop Bible Studies, was seen in Toronto last week: Dear Jesus, My mom and dad do drugs at home and it scares me. Will you help them stop? Thank you for hearing my prayer. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can… Read more
The Wichita Coalition of Reason just put up the following billboard in two locations thanks to $4,108 in funding from the United Coalition of Reason: Reaching out to the like-minded isn’t the only goal of the coalition: “We hope people will realize that we’re already a regular part of the community,” said Sean Gillespie, coordinator of Wichita CoR. “Non-theists and skeptics like us live throughout Kansas. We’re your friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers. Some of us may even be in… Read more
Justin Vacula, the guy who has been blocked from putting up the most inoffensive atheist bus ad in the world, has been trying to get a Secular Student Alliance group started at Marywood University (in Pennsylvania). Marywood is a private Catholic university. But that shouldn’t really matter here. Many religious schools (like DePaul University, which I attended) promote diversity even if it goes against Catholic doctrine. Marywood even has an official LGBT-supporting student group called the Ally Club. But the… Read more
Last week, I mentioned that the Dallas–Fort Worth Coalition of Reason was embarking on a new advertising campaign called “Our Families Are Great Without Religion.” The goal was to highlight how “family” was not synonymous with “Christian.” One ad seemed to be particularly controversial: That ad was supposed to appear during pre-show ads at the Green Oaks Movie Tavern in Arlington. At the last minute, though, the theater changed its mind and said no. Now, some good news: Another theater… Read more
A Christian group called Student Life Auckland (at Auckland University in New Zealand) is giving students a chance to throw an egg at their members. Just one catch: “The meaning of the Easter story and Christ’s resurrection will be explained to those wanting to throw eggs,” explains a flyer. “Egging will continue for as long as eggs last. One egg per person.” Organiser Penelope Brewer, 27, said flyers left in lecture theatres this week had people talking about the event… Read more
The nice part about being a nosy former intern for the Secular Student Alliance is that I get to sometimes learn of awesome news before anyone else. The sad part is that I don’t get to tell anyone about it, even if it’s the most awesome news ever! I’ve been really excited about this news for a while, so I am absolutely thrilled to be allowed to finally announce it! The Secular Student Alliance is offering free memberships to all… Read more
What better way to spend Good Friday than with a group of heathens? I’ll be giving a talk Friday night at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the Alabama Atheists and Agnostics. The event takes place in Ferguson Student Center, Room 360, from 6:30p – 7:45p. It’s free of charge and a goat may be sacrificed. Hope to see you there! Read more
The Foundation Beyond Belief has just announced its five beneficiaries for the new quarter — each charity will likely receive several thousands of dollars, courtesy of atheist donors: POVERTY: Shoulder to Shoulder HUMAN RIGHTS: It Gets Better Project CHALLENGE THE GAP: MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger EDUCATION: National Association for Urban Debate Leagues THE NATURAL WORLD: Population Connection … The lion’s share of my donations this month are going to the It Gets Better Project and — no surprise… Read more
