Carl Sagan Day!

Date: Thursday, November 1st
Time: 7 pm
Location: DePaul Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Avenue
RSVP: Facebook

Details: You're invited to Chicago’s Carl Sagan Day 2012! Chicago's secular community is gathering once again to celebrate the life and legacy of the great science popularizer, the beauty of discovery, and the fun of exploration. The event will be held in Schmitt Academic Center Room 161, on DePaul's Lincoln Park Campus. The building is handicapable accessible, and accommodation can be provided upon request. A group is going up from UChicago from 55th and University, leaving at 6pm. Apple pie (made from scratch, of course) and cosmos will be served. Talks: "Carl Sagan's Life and Legacy" Dr. Peter Vandervoort, Professor Emeritus, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and a former colleague of Carl Sagan "Cosmic Mysteries: the Dark Universe and the Most Energetic Particles" Dr. Angela Olinto, Chair of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department at the University of Chicago "Citizen Science" Dr. Bernhard Beck-Winchantz, Associate Professor of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Studies Department at DePaul University Emcee: Matt Lowry High School Physics Teacher, writer at The Skeptical Teacher. Full Schedule at http://saganchicago.weebly.com/schedule.html Organizers: Kate Donovan Andrew Tripp Chana Messinger

Second Movie Night: What Darwin Never Knew

Date: Thursday, November 8th
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Cobb 402
RSVP: Facebook

Details: One hundred and fifty years after Darwin, scientists decode nature's greatest mysteries. The University of Chicago Secular Alliance will be screening this excellent NOVA Special on all the amazing things we've found out about evolution since Darwin. This will be accompanied by a free pizza dinner!

Secularization of Religious Holidays - Fourth Weekly Meeting

Date: Wednesday, October 31th
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Spirit Cafe, basement of Rockefeller Chapel

Details: It's Halloween, a holiday that used to be pretty religious and is no longer, so we're going to talk about how and why that happens to holidays and whether it's a good thing. Costumes welcome but not mandatory.

Ethical Obligations of Politicians - Third Weekly Meeting

Date: Wednesday, October 24th
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Spirit Cafe, basement of Rockefeller Chapel

Details: We'll be talking about the ethical obligations of politicians. Is it ok to lie for the greater good of getting a better candidate (yourself, presumably) elected? How much should faith or nonfaith come in to the way politicians present themselves? Is it right to hold politicians to a higher level of morality, like not cheating on spouses or taxes or breaking minor laws? All this and more! Having watched the debates is totally optional.

Weekly Update 3: Carl Sagan Day and Halloween! 10/29/12

Meeting Reminder: Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 31, at 6:00 pm in the Spirit Cafe in the basement of Rockefeller chapel. It's Halloween, a holiday that used to be pretty religious and is no longer, so we're going to talk about how and why that happens to holidays and whether it's a good thing. Costumes welcome but not mandatory. There will be warm drinks and I'm baking Halloween cookies!

Upcoming Events

• Oh my math and science, you guys, Carl Sagan Day is this Thursday, November 1st. We have three speakers talking about Carl Sagan, Dark Matter and Space and Popular Science, respectively. We have fresh apple pie that exists only because of the initial boundary conditions of the universe. We have a raffle (first ticket free for everyone!) for tickets to the Adler Planetarium. It's going to be amazing. Doors open for reception at 7:00 pm and talks start at 8:00 pm.Information, full schedule and Safe Space Policy on website here: saganchicago.weebly.com. RSVP at Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/292567684190986/?fref=ts
• Our thrice-quarterly Movie Night is coming up again, next week, on Thursday! More details to come soon.

Links

• Want to speak at next summer's Secular Student Alliance Conference? Check out the application here. 
• Secular people have political influence! Don't we?
• Apparently scientists are supposed to be omniscient now. 

You guys are awesome! See you Wednesday!

Weekly Update 2! Ethical politicians (or the lack thereof), whether atheists can be president, and some street preaching: 10/23/12

Weekly email week 4! We're almost halfway through the quarter already!

Meeting ReminderOur next meeting will be Wednesday, October 24, at 6:00 pm in the Spirit Cafe in the basement of Rockefeller chapel. We'll be talking about the ethical obligations of politicians. Is it ok to lie for the greater good of getting a better candidate (yourself, presumably) elected? How much should faith or nonfaith come in to the way politicians present themselves? Is it right to hold politicians to a higher level of morality, like not cheating on spouses or taxes or breaking minor laws? All this and more! Having watched the debates is totally optional. As always, we'll have warm drinks and possibly snacks.

Upcoming Events

• We had such a great time at Light the Night! Thanks to everyone who came out!
• This Wednesday, and every Wednesday, there's Spirit Cafe in the Spirit Cafe right before our meeting, from 4:30 to 5:30. This week, they'll be talking about culture. Facebook page here. 
• Fishbowl Conversation: Invoking God at election time (or, could we elect a non-believer to high office?) -Rockefeller Event, Thursday, October 25, 8pm, McCormick Tribune Lounge. This looks really interesting!
• Yesterday (sorry, it's too late for this week) and every Monday, Josh Oxley, Humanist Advisor to Rockefeller Chapel emeritus, runs a discussion involving analyzing scriptural texts from a variety of faith traditions and seeing what all these traditions say about various topics like human rights and personal identity. Noon every Monday in Hutchinson Commons.
• Carl Sagan Day is coming up! It's on Thursday, November 1, starting at 7pm. RSVP at the facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/292567684190986/?fref=ts

General Announcements

• Remember to let us know if you'd like to blog for us, or if you already blog about issues related to secularism! 
• We're going to have another movie night in 6th week, and another 9th week. Are there any movies you'd particularly like to see? Let Emma know!

Links

• What do you guys think of the American Atheists' new election-themed ad about Mormons in Florida? Some peoplecertainly don't like it. 
• From last meeting, it actually appears that individual intelligence and happiness don't have much of a relationship. 
• Atheist street preaching! Should we do this?

Movie Night, Transhumanism, and Ducks: 10/14/12

Hello! This is the first of what will be a wonderful year full of weekly updates from me. This is where you find out when and where the next meeting is, what the upcoming events are, and also get a ton of cool links I hope you'll like. Feel free to read just the first part, or click through it all. Without further ado:

Meeting Reminder 
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 17, at 6:00 pm in the Spirit Cafe in the basement of Rockefeller chapel. We'll be talking about transhumanism, where humanity is going, whether we should modify ourselves and whether death is bad. Feel free to start reading about it on Wikipedia.

OFF CAMPUS: Hemant Mehta Talk

Date: Tuesday, October 16th
Time: 7 pm
Location: Room 325, Lincoln Park Student Center, DePaul
RSVP: Facebook


Details: Join DAFT as they host Hemant Mehta for a talk on how to improve our public schools! This talk will be held from 7 PM in room 325 of the Lincoln Park Student Center. This event is free and open to the public. The Student Center is completely handicapable accessible, and accommodation can be provided upon request.

About Hemant:
Hemant Mehta graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with degrees in Mathematics and Biology. While there, he also helped establish their first secular student group, Students WithOut Religious Dogma (SWORD). He earned his Masters in Math Education at DePaul University and currently teaches high school math in the suburbs of Chicago. He has worked with the Center for Inquiry and the Secular Coalition for America, received scholarships from American Atheists and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and now serves on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief (a charity organization targeting non-theistic donors) and is the former chair of the board of the Secular Student Alliance (which creates and supports college atheist groups nationwide). Hemant appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and his book, I Sold My Soul on eBay (WaterBrook Press), was released in 2007. His blog, the winner of the 2011 Bloggie award for Best Weblog About Religion, can be read at FriendlyAtheist.com. Hemant's book, I Sold My Soul on eBay (WaterBrook Press), was released in 2007. He has appeared on CNN and FOX News Channel.

Transhumanism - Second Weekly Meeting

Date: Wednesday, October 17th
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Spirit Cafe, basement of Rockefeller Chapel
RSVP: none

Details: We'll be talking about transhumanism, where humanity is going, whether we should modify ourselves and whether death is bad. Feel free to start reading about it on Wikipedia.

Spaghetti Dinner/Movie Night Fundraiser

Date: Thursday, October 18th
Time: 6:30 pm dinner, 7 pm movie
Location: Burton-Judson Theatre, Burton-Judson Residence Hall
RSVP: Facebook

Details: The University of Chicago Secular Alliance will be screening Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life". Accompanying this FREE screening will be a FREE spaghetti dinner, complements of our master-chef members. Donations are encouraged (yet optional) to help us raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of a national mobilization of the secular community to fight cancer. For more information regarding this charity and how to get involved visit:
http://www.lightthenight.org/
http://www.secularstudents.org/lightthenight

First Weekly Meeting

Date: Wednesday, October 10th
Time: 6-7 pm
Location: Spirit Cafe, in the basement of Rockefeller Chapel
RSVP: Facebook

Details: Come one, come all! Meet secularists, atheists, deists, agnostics and intrigued religious people! We'll get introduced and eat candy as we figure out where we stand on the all important issues of god, religion, harry potter and soft drink preferences.

RSO Fair

Date: Friday, October 5th
Time: 3-5:30 pm
Location: Main Quad

Details: Representatives from several hundred student organizations, numerous offices, and community partners welcome students back to campus each year at the SARF - and help new students begin to make the most of their UChicago experience. If you're interested in the Secular Alliance, and want to find out what we're all about, come visit our table!