The Central Valley Alliance of Atheists and Skeptics was on campus Monday in the hopes of forming a new student organization.
The group had an information booth near the University Center with information brochures and sign-up sheets for students interested in helping to form this organization.
The Free Thought Society, a related group, tried establishing a similar organization on campus back in 2002, but failed.
Mark Boyd, president of the CVAAS, says that it is difficult to keep these campus organizations going because they lack continuity.
“The people who were leading that group were seniors,” he said. “They had a really heavy workload, so they had to focus on their class work.”
The CVAAS, in coordination with the Secular Student Alliance, would support a new secular group not only with moral support, but financial support as well. The group would be provided with their own information tables, their own website, guest speakers and several parties and events throughout the year.
The religious groups on campus have churches,” Boyd said. “A church can drop down a thousand dollars without blinking an eye for a pizza party or swim party, and get a lot of people involved very quickly. We’re looking to do something very similar.”
There are approximately 16 different religious groups in existence on campus.
Boyd has already had several people interested in adding a secular voice to the mix.
“They can figure out which direction they want to go,” he said, “and we can give them the push to get there.”
The Collegian contacted a representative for one of the Christian Fellowships on campus, who said that the secular organization’s presence at Fresno State is a “non-issue.”
Philosotroll • Jan 27, 2011 at 3:36 pm
I was glad to see CVAAS on campus. It’s not entirely surprising the sheer number of Christian groups on campus, but what is surprising is the absence of any sort of secular student organization. Hopefully it will open up debate on campus; the Christian groups seem very open to it, though (and I agree with A_Kelly on this) the ambiguous quote from “a representative for one of the Christian Fellowships” is a little odd.
Religion on campus at CSU Fresno seems a good topic of discussion and hopefully there will be a forum for it very soon. The Ethics Center has an event coming regarding the topic, and I hope the Collegian (along with many other) will continue to be supportive of the debate and offer a civil forum for discussion.
Anonymous • Jan 26, 2011 at 11:38 pm
‘The Collegian contacted a representative for one of the Christian Fellowships on campus, who said that the secular organization’s presence at Fresno State is a “non-issue.”’
Interesting story, but what did the person mean when they said a “non-issue?” That statement can mean a lot of different things and when you don’t explain what they meant, you’re not representing them very well. It’s also unfortunate that this source had to be so vague with no name or specific group they’re involved with. It’s almost as if this last bit was thrown in at the last second.
Calladus • Jan 26, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Interested students should check out the CSU Fresno Secular Student Alliance page on Facebook, or see the website: http://www.secularstudents.org/csufresno. You are also welcome to contact the Central Valley Alliance of Atheists and Skeptics at http://www.cvaas.org.
Calladus • Jan 26, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Interested students should check out the CSU Fresno Secular Student Alliance page on Facebook, or see the website: http://www.secularstudents.org/csufresno. You are also welcome to contact the Central Valley Alliance of Atheists and Skeptics at http://www.cvaas.org.