Letter from the President
Currently, the Texas State Board of Education, with creationist Don McLeroy at the helm, is considering a proposal for a new science curriculum. McLeroy told the Associated Press that he views evolution as a "hypothesis with weaknesses."
Fortunately, over 800 scientists in Texas are trying to stop this proposal from going through. An organization created just two weeks before McLeroy's statement, called the 21st Century Science Coalition, is representing these scientists.
The term "strengths and weaknesses" has been a springboard for teachers to launch into a discussion about creationism or intelligent design. It is particularly disturbing because the "weaknesses" that people refer to do not exist. Some may claim, as my Junior year history teacher did, that evolution has not been proven or observed. In fact, the process has been observed repeatedly in organisms such as fruit flies.
Those who make these kinds of claims are generally not scientists and do not have a scientific background. It is dangerous for those who do not or choose not to accept evolution as a fact to be allowed, and in fact encouraged, to point out flaws in the evolutionary theory.
What can students do to address this kind of problem? Most students may feel hopeless and unable to change situations like this. However, we can have an impact on the decisions made by a Board of Education. There are always ways of challenging these circumstances. It is important that we recognize how dangerous these situations are. If we can recognize their importance, then I believe we will be inclined to do something about it, and we will keep up the good fight.
Matthew LaClair is serving as the student President of CFI On Campus. He is currently a freshman at The New School in New York, NY.
Secular Alliance of IU Visits
Creation Museum
The Secular Alliance of Indiana University took a field trip in November to the infamous Creation Museum in Kentucky. Group member Eoban Binder made a video of the experience:
Read "Another take on the Creation Museum" on the SAIU blog.
SAIU's plans attracted attention from the likes of Ken Ham (a main force behind the Museum). The video was also posted on PZ Myers's popular blog, Pharyngula.
You can digg the video or give props to it on Reddit.
Reflections on "The Dangers of Freethinking Women"
by Max Jackson
Campus Freethought Alliance at UCF
We here at the University of Central Florida have been fortunate enough recently to enjoy a visit from "Brother Micah," a burly, angry evangelical fundamentalist Christian who journeys from campus to campus to furiously sling pejoratives at everyone he sees. Punctuating his rants by enthusiastically thumping on his heavily worn Bible, Brother Micah makes a wide variety of points on the wayward nature of the college students who quickly assemble to gawk at his impassioned tirade. "Sinners! You must repent!! Homos! You must atone!! Feminists! You must submit!!!" After the crowd draws a collective gasp, he follows up with "I'm not trying to put you women down, I'm trying to put you in your place!"
Such sentiments are nothing new, and are only astonishing to my fellow college students because they are rarely articulated in today's collegiate social environment. On our campus, men and women alike play the same role, that of the student. The thought that women our age should be prepping for lives of birthing and cleaning rather than working towards their own ambitions is rarely espoused, much less taken very seriously. Despite this, women today still face great difficulties and prejudice even in ostensibly progressive environments, although said challenges lack the salience of the spectacularly cruel misogyny seen in the past and in today's more theocratic societies.
It was on this subject that Toni Van Pelt came to speak to us at UCF. During her talk, we learned of women who had faced unspeakable cruelty, violence, exile, and execution for their progressively secular beliefs. We learned how women who were openly critical of religion faced terrible consequences for their alleged iconoclasm, while their male counterparts survived in relative safety and comfort.
Following her talk, we delved directly into a passionate group discussion of modern feminism, its relation to secular values, and what action we could take to ensure social progress on these issues. As a Washington insider, her insight into the modern political process was invaluable for those of us seeking to understand how it could be that women comprise a mere 15% of Congress, despite such salient examples of modern women in politics as Sarah Palin and Nancy Pelosi. Are they indicative of a progressive trend? Or are they exceptions in a system still rife with prejudice?
We all walked away from her talk feeling more knowledgeable and inspired. A week after her talk, Brother Micah arrived for his annual proselytizing-through-condemnation spectacle. He serves as a telling reminder that dogma and misogyny happily go hand-in-hand, even today. However, Toni Van Pelt serves as a hopeful reminder that educated women are always ready and willing to fight back.
Max Jackson is in his second year at the University of Central Florida, studying psychology, biology, and anthropology, aiming to apply that knowledge to a career in neuroscience. He is currently President of the Campus Freethought Alliance at UCF and a campus regional coordinator for CFI.
Bring Point of Inquiry to your Campus Radio Station!
CFI invites you to bring Point of Inquiry, its radio show and podcast, to your campus. Point of Inquiry, connected with Skeptical Inquirer and Free Inquiry magazines, is the weekly long-format interview show hosted by D.J. Grothe, focusing on exploring the implications of the scientific outlook with leading thinkers from many different fields. Past episodes have featured prominent scientists and social critics, including Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jill Tarter, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker, Ann Druyan, Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer, Susan Jacoby, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett.
Bring Point of Inquiry to your campus! Point of Inquiry can now be heard on a number of campus and community radio stations throughout North America. The process for bringing the show to your school involves the following:
- Let us know of your interest by .
- Contact your community's or school's radio station to explore the possibility (is there an opening in the schedule?).
- Download the POI episodes, or request higher-quality digital recordings of past episodes from CFI. Any past episode is available for re-broadcast for free.
This is another way that you can help advance science and secular values at your school. We're looking forward to working with you to bring the show to new audiences!
Update Campus Group Contact Information
It's time to update the CFI campus affiliate database for 2008-2009! If you are a campus group leader, go to the new CFI Campus Group Affiliation Form and fill it out as completely as you can. This information will be used to update the CFI Campus Groups Listing in the coming weeks.
With about 200 active CFI-affiliated campus groups around the world, it's difficult to keep track of current group contact info. Filling out the form is quick, it's easy, and you'll help CFI to best provide resources and speakers where needed. Thank you for helping us to keep our records up to date!
Digital Resources
