Congratulations, Stony Brook University. Good job on discouraging preferential treatment to specific religions. Obviously, Rush Limbaugh doesn't like it, but, well, it's Rush Limbaugh. I don't think there's much of anything that he actually does like; the man's show is a putrid fountain of hatred and idiocy.
But that's beside the point. In February, Stony Brook made some changes to their calendar for 2012, which will presumably apply to later years as well, provided no one has a big enough tantrum first. Religious holidays will no longer be holidays from classes – specifically, Christian and Jewish holidays won't, since no other religion's holidays were recognized by the school calendar.
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Friday, July 29, 2011
SSA Conference!
Just a short post, as I'm leaving soonish and still need to pack (curse you, procrastination!), but I'm heading off to the Secular Student Alliance's annual conference in Columbus, Ohio today, and I am excited!
As far as what I hope to get out of this, I'd really like to learn more about how to make a group female-friendly... but not in a way that's just targeting females. I'd also like to hear any opinions on making to whole "ladies' issues" engaging to guys without resorting to "it might get you laid." Quite frankly, I'm of the opinion that most problems are "human issues," rather than men's or women's specifically, but there I don't run into a whole lot of agreement on this.
To put it frankly, how the hell do I get a (mostly male) group to talk about something like the proposed requirement for health insurance providers to provide birth control free of charge without having them think that the only reason it's important is because they're less likely to knock someone up if it's put into effect?
Also, how to run better events. How to strike the right balance between what some people want and what others disagree with. How to forge good relations with faith-based groups. How to figure out whether something's a rumor or not, and how to keep it from spreading while we find out (more on this later). And whether anyone knows if Rock Beyond Belief is actually going to happen (seriously, I want to go)!
All that said, I'm mostly excited to meet everyone else there. I mean, c'mon, it's a conference which, if I extrapolate based on previous experiences with the Freethinkers, will be full of awesome people. Also, the awesome speaker list.
And I can't lie; I really just want to hug PZ Myers.... he just looks so huggable!
As far as what I hope to get out of this, I'd really like to learn more about how to make a group female-friendly... but not in a way that's just targeting females. I'd also like to hear any opinions on making to whole "ladies' issues" engaging to guys without resorting to "it might get you laid." Quite frankly, I'm of the opinion that most problems are "human issues," rather than men's or women's specifically, but there I don't run into a whole lot of agreement on this.
To put it frankly, how the hell do I get a (mostly male) group to talk about something like the proposed requirement for health insurance providers to provide birth control free of charge without having them think that the only reason it's important is because they're less likely to knock someone up if it's put into effect?
Also, how to run better events. How to strike the right balance between what some people want and what others disagree with. How to forge good relations with faith-based groups. How to figure out whether something's a rumor or not, and how to keep it from spreading while we find out (more on this later). And whether anyone knows if Rock Beyond Belief is actually going to happen (seriously, I want to go)!
All that said, I'm mostly excited to meet everyone else there. I mean, c'mon, it's a conference which, if I extrapolate based on previous experiences with the Freethinkers, will be full of awesome people. Also, the awesome speaker list.
And I can't lie; I really just want to hug PZ Myers.... he just looks so huggable!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Temporary Leave of Absence
Hey, sorry for all the lack of posting that's going on.
And for the fact that it's going to continue until I've finished writing the billion papers I need to turn in, and studying for and taking finals. And acquiring a job.
I'm just really busy at the moment. I'll be posting again once the semester's over, and maybe I'll sneak something short in between then and now.
And for the fact that it's going to continue until I've finished writing the billion papers I need to turn in, and studying for and taking finals. And acquiring a job.
I'm just really busy at the moment. I'll be posting again once the semester's over, and maybe I'll sneak something short in between then and now.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
More Information
As more information comes to light, I would like to restate that Mr. Alex Huppert needs help and support, not judgment and condemnation. Free@VT has extended our support to his family and friends, should they need it, and we hope for the best for Mr. Huppert as he faces a difficult period in his life.
At present, it appears that Alex's behavior may have been due to his taking a drug that he believed to be Paxil -- for which he had a prescription -- but wasn't.
More information is available in this follow-up article in the Virginia Tech Collegiate Times.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Today's Events: the Awesome and the Terrifying
Today was National (or International, depending on who you ask) Ask an Atheist Day. I planned and ran the Free@VT-sponsored booth here at Virginia Tech, and as one of my fellow participants said, the day was "99% totally awesome open dialogue, and 1% horrible obscene worst-case-scenario."
First, the awesome stuff. While the day started off slowly, we had a definite increase in interest and traffic as the day went on. By noon, we had a pretty much constant group of students around the booth, and several atheists who hadn't known about Free@VT had dropped by to pick up a meeting schedule or sign up for our listserv (including a student in the Corps of Cadets, who was feeling a bit out outcast in the military setting and was excited to hear of an atheist-friendly group on campus!). Even more delightful was the number of people who were actually asking us questions.
We had a veritable flood of students from some of the on-campus Christian organizations, most notably from Campus Crusade for Christ. Both sides of the discussion -- and, surprised as I was, it was, in all cases, a discussion, not an argument -- were very polite, and genuinely interested in having an open dialogue. Questions ranged from wondering whether we celebrated Christmas, to where we got our morals, to our thoughts on the origin of life and the universe, to whether we believed if Jesus ever existed, and beyond.
Perhaps a measure of the respect we were treated with was due to the fact that many of our volunteers were grad students, but I don't really think that's what it was. At Virginia Tech, there seems to be a high expectation from everyone, not just from the establishment, that others be treated with respect until they've done something showing that they're not worthy of that. Hokies, as a whole, are a family, and while we may disagree on some things, we try our utmost to be, at least, civil.
As I said, however, there was that 1% of the day that was heinously awful.
First, the awesome stuff. While the day started off slowly, we had a definite increase in interest and traffic as the day went on. By noon, we had a pretty much constant group of students around the booth, and several atheists who hadn't known about Free@VT had dropped by to pick up a meeting schedule or sign up for our listserv (including a student in the Corps of Cadets, who was feeling a bit out outcast in the military setting and was excited to hear of an atheist-friendly group on campus!). Even more delightful was the number of people who were actually asking us questions.
We had a veritable flood of students from some of the on-campus Christian organizations, most notably from Campus Crusade for Christ. Both sides of the discussion -- and, surprised as I was, it was, in all cases, a discussion, not an argument -- were very polite, and genuinely interested in having an open dialogue. Questions ranged from wondering whether we celebrated Christmas, to where we got our morals, to our thoughts on the origin of life and the universe, to whether we believed if Jesus ever existed, and beyond.
Perhaps a measure of the respect we were treated with was due to the fact that many of our volunteers were grad students, but I don't really think that's what it was. At Virginia Tech, there seems to be a high expectation from everyone, not just from the establishment, that others be treated with respect until they've done something showing that they're not worthy of that. Hokies, as a whole, are a family, and while we may disagree on some things, we try our utmost to be, at least, civil.
As I said, however, there was that 1% of the day that was heinously awful.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
It's Women's History Month... So Get Back in the Kitchen
As I'm sure you all know, since International Women's Day was just last week, March is Women's History Month. Now, deny it as some might, gender equality is still not as widespread as it ought to be, and I wholeheartedly applaud those who are bringing that fact further into the public spotlight.
I appreciate the free self-defense classes that are offered to women (and men) on campus here at Virginia Tech. While in a perfect world, we wouldn't have to worry about having to defend ourselves, being able to do so is definitely an empowering skill.
When I saw that the weight room in the gym was being cleared for a women-only session, I was totally jazzed. It's intimidating to walk into a room of sweaty dudes and try to figure out how to use some obscure piece of equipment. I think it's great that the gym took a day to make sure that the ladies on campus had a chance to learn how to use that stuff.
I'm having a hard time, however, with how our cafeterias decided to celebrate Women's History Month. Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad they're acknowledging it. But... cupcakes?
I appreciate the free self-defense classes that are offered to women (and men) on campus here at Virginia Tech. While in a perfect world, we wouldn't have to worry about having to defend ourselves, being able to do so is definitely an empowering skill.
When I saw that the weight room in the gym was being cleared for a women-only session, I was totally jazzed. It's intimidating to walk into a room of sweaty dudes and try to figure out how to use some obscure piece of equipment. I think it's great that the gym took a day to make sure that the ladies on campus had a chance to learn how to use that stuff.
I'm having a hard time, however, with how our cafeterias decided to celebrate Women's History Month. Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad they're acknowledging it. But... cupcakes?
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