Ihmhi

I have already posted on the matter of establishing an Atheist club in school in the post "Atheist Club in School".

To bring the uninformed (and/or those too lazy to read my other post) up to speed, to start a club in my school I have to convince a faculty member to sponsor it. Following that, I have to convince a member of our school's upper administration (I think vice principal or higher) to allow the club to be started. I basically have to justify an atheist club to a theist.

I believe I have decided what to do. The following is my presentation, which I am first going to show to prospective faculty sponsors, and then one of the administrators. I ask that any member of II that can provide a helpful and/or critical opinion would kindly do so.

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Atheist Forum and Support Group

Purpose: An organized discussion forum for all who wish to attend. Religion, Mythology, and documents and history associated with the two will be reviewed and discussed from a scientific, logical viewpoint. This club will also serve as a support group for atheists, who, by choosing not to practice religion, have nowhere to go to discuss their beliefs with other people who have similar beliefs.

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My school has a Bible Club. If anything, I can use the fact that we are focusing on studying religious documents (just as they do) as a defense. I could also threaten to call the ACLU (but only as a desperate, last ditch effort).

The best part of my design is that we will be discussing topics from a scientific, logical viewpoint. That would essentially prevent people from attending the club and preaching dogma because it cannot be explained scientifically. It's a beautiful plan, but I think it can be improved on. I just don't know how.

I am going to type this up and start looking for potential faculty members on Monday. There's only two or three weeks left in school, but this will allot me the whole summer to gather material and topics for next year. If you can think of a way that I can improve it, please help me. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Ihmhi

beejay

It sounds like a well-thought-out proposal. There are a lot of people here who would like to see this succeed, so please keep us updated. Try to get the club OK'd this school year so if you have problems, we can help you plan during the summer...


Well, that isn't really how this should work. The school had better not overrule this club based on the content.

There was a court case, Good News v. Milford, that had to do with a Christian group and school access. But it works both ways.


Anti-defamation League exposition on the meaning of Good News v. Milford

I really don't see how the school can legally stop your club. Good luck on finding a sponsor and keep us informed.

Toto

I would suggest expanding the scope to "atheists, agnostics, and religious doubters". Also, many Christians claim to justify their faith on logical and scientific grounds. You will need to be well read to spot the fallacies.

Ihmhi

Okay, how about...

• Atheist/Agnostiscist Forum and Support Group
• Religious Doubters Forum
• God Eats Me (just kidding, don't smite me)

I've got the concept down, but it's really hard to come up with a good name (remember when they were trying to decide what to call the first U.S. President in formal situations?).


Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming.

Sincerely,
Ihmhi

beejay

Toto may have been talking about expanding the "Purpose", not the name.

Short is good.

Either your first suggestion or Religious Doubters Forum sound good. The latter may draw students who aren't ready to call themselves atheists, but who have doubts. (Which is a good thing, right?)

But these are details (and why aren't you in school?) ... get that club started...

BioBeing

Do you mean all are welcome to attend? How would it fit with you aim of "support" if 10 atheists and 20 Christians show up? Under school rules are you allowed to limit access to only the non religious? Do you want to? How does the bible club deal (in principle) with athesists/muslims/buddhists who want to join?

On a related note - do you need a certain quorum for the group to form? Maybe it would be a good idea anyway to get together the names of several people (with their permission, of course) to show there would be interest.

Maybe stress the support group aspect first. As noted by others, the Creationists and the IDiots, for example, claim science and logic on their side. Is this to be a place to debate evolution vs creationism only? Maybe include some possible other topics?

Do not approach it in this manner. You will come across as adversarial. Put it forward on its own merits. (Then sue if they don't let you )

See above.

pariah

yes he can let the 20 christians in, but if they start to preach, he has a good oppurtunity to smack their bitch asses down. and if they refuse to listen and go "lalallalalala" he can kick them out of the club for not following its guidelines.

SLD

I would suggest "Freethinkers Forum". That term is a little less controversial than Atheist and may attract other religious dissenters who are not necessarily hardcore atheists. Also I wouldn't be afraid to challenge your vice principal from the start. If he says no, force him to give you a reason, inform him of your religious rights under the Constitution and quote specifically to him the case law that supports your position. If he persists, threaten legal action politely. Just tell him that you have discussed this matter already with an ACLU lawyer (I am a lawyer and a card carrying ACLU member), and that according to him the U.S. Supreme Court has held that you cannot deny the right to form the group if you provide access to a Bible based group. Cite him the case: Good News Club v. Milford Central School 533 U.S. 98 (2001).

Simply put, don't take no for an answer. Also protect yourself. As I said in the other thread, when someone tried that around here, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes demonstrated the tried and true method of religious conversion in the middle ages. They beat the crap out of the guy. So be careful!!

SLD

James Hamlin

I've been absent from the boards for a while, and I have some news about my own club. Attempted club, I should, unfortunately, say. I had the student backing, I had the signatures, I had the constitution. I submitted it. "Two weeks," she said, and I would know. It's been over a month, and I graduate on Wednesday. I asked what had happened, and the secretary told me that she didn't know, and that I should ask some other woman. The other woman knew nothing about it. Sounds like BS to me. I'm going to try to get my younger friends to carry the torch, or re-ignite it. I'm pissed. My advice- be more vocal to the administration than I was. You need to pressure them.

SLD

Not at all surprising. I agree that you need to be more vocal. If I were you, I'd get the others together and get more vocal now for next year. Keep it in the forefront. Threaten legal action and siccing the ACLU on them.

SLD