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The following article is from the Secular Humanist Bulletin, Volume 19, Number 1.
Dear CFA Members,
I’d like to tell you about several pieces of very exciting news. First, the Campus Freethought Alliance (CFA) is continuing to grow and expand in various ways. Thirteen new groups have affiliated with the CFA during the last winter and the beginning of Spring 2003 semester, and our national series of critical debates and presentations on science education, theism, naturalism, and church-state separation is constantly expanding and improving. You can find the latest schedule of CFA events on our home page at www.campusfreethought.org.
As of the time of this writing, I am looking forward to our next major national event, the conference “One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society, and Justice” in Washington, D.C., April 10–13. Along with special CFA events, there will be many speakers and presentations of special interest to those interested in church-state separation and science education, including Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Dr. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education; Massimo Pigliucci, esteemed evolutionary biologist; and Michael Newdow, plaintiff in the Pledge of Allegiance case.
It will also be a great opportunity to meet other members of CFA from across North America and around the world—a great opportunity to see old friends both during the conference and at the special CFA events.
Another major event to look forward to is the Center for Inquiry Summer Session 2003 [see p. 6). Last year’s Summer Session was incredible for everyone involved, and I’m sure this year’s will also be fantastic. I strongly encourage all CFA members to attend. Transferable undergraduate credits, as well as a limited number of assistantships, are available. Read the description elsewhere in this Bulletin for more information.
I hope you are all enjoying success in your current semester and are able to participate in some of the national or regional events that CFA has planned in cities across North America. As always, do not hesitate to contact the CFA if we can be of any assistance.
In Reason,
Debbie Goddard
CFA Student President
Temple University
In the last issue of the SHB, CFA announced its new Web site, listing the dozens of online resources to help CFA members be more effective organizers and supporters of humanism and skepticism on their campuses. These resources include the new Guide to Successful CFA Lectures and Debates (CFA puts on about 100 each academic year on campuses across North America); the new CFA Speakers and Debaters Listing; new downloadable CFA posters and flyers; the downloadable CFA Affiliate Group Organizing Guide; teaching guides and syllabi for supportive faculty and staff; and many other off-site resources on evolution and science education. Also mentioned were the new video clips from select lectures and debates, the listing of the 145 CFA Affiliate Groups, the Campus Inquirer sign-up box, the new Free Promotional Materials order form, and much more! To get involved, join CFA (even if you are an off-campus supporter) by visiting www.campusfreethought.org.
CFA’s Online Forum is quickly becoming a home for discussion and debate among high school and college students, faculty, and off-campus supporters of CFA. Forum categories include College and High School CFA Activism, where students share their strategies for promoting critical inquiry on campus, lively debates such as “Are Psychics Real?” and “Can You Be Good Without God?,” and many other threads of discussion of interest to freethinkers.
Please get involved, whether you are on or off campus, by visiting the “Forum” link at www.campusfreethought.org.
CFA is pleased to announce the following events will occur (or have already occurred by publication) during spring semester 2003. If you attend or live near one of these following campuses, be sure to get involved.
March 27: Matthew Shepard Symposium for Social Justice, University of Wyoming. DJ Grothe: “Is There A Middle Ground in the Homosexual-Rights Debate?”
April 8: Veritas Forum, Harvard University. DJ Grothe will debate Rich Halvorson on “Is the Secular Worldview Defensible?”
April 17: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Doug Krueger and Richard Howe will speak on “Does God Exist?”
April 23: Americans United for Separation for Church and State Forum, Georgetown University. DJ Grothe and David Noebel spar on “Clergy in the Classroom: Is Secular Humanism the Religion of the Public Schools?”
April 24: Johns Hopkins University. DJ Grothe and Rich Halvorson debate “Battle for the Mind: Secular Humanism vs. the Christian Biblical Worldview.”
The Council for Secular Humanism and the Campus Freethought Alliance will hold their first joint conference in Washington, D.C., April 10–13, 2003: “One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society and Justice.”
In addition to special CFA educational and organizing events, conference speakers included Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens, philosopher and Center for Inquiry Chairman Paul Kurtz, activist Michael Newdow, and actress and comedian of Saturday Night Live fame, Julia Sweeney, among many others.
Check the next issue of SHB for pictures!
CFI SUMMIT
OCTOBER 24-27 2013
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
Joint Conference of the Council for Secular Humanism, Center for Inquiry, and Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
The transnational secular humanist magazine
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