Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics (AHA!)

AHA Emails #13: Buddhism and Atheism

2012-02-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

Hey Madison Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics,

Spring semester is finally moving along, and we've got a lot of stuff going on. Check it out!

Meeting #13: Buddhism and Atheism

What: A discussion of what Buddhism is and why we would be interested in it
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: Because it's interesting!

Also on Wednesday...

The Student Org Fair!

We'll be in a booth in the Kohl center talking about our club and trying to get new members.

It's from 5pm to 7pm so stop by and say hello!

Want even more AHA? (of course!)

Then come with us to Team Trivia on Mondays at 8pm at The Tipsy Cow (map!)

1st place team gets a $30 gift certificate! Think of all the nachos I could eat with that!

So help us win and answer sports questions because last night we did not do well with those...

AHA Emails #12: Coming Out as a Freethinker

2012-01-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hey Madison Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics,

Take a break from the awesome weather we're having right now and check out what we have in store for this week!

Meeting #12: Coming Out as a Freethinker

What: A discussion on being honest with our friends and family
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: Because sometimes our families aren't so open minded

Wow: Yeah, I still had to go to church with my family over winter break

AHA Emails #11: Jessica Ahlquist and Religion in High School

2012-01-25T15:46:00.000-08:00

Hey Madison Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics,

Welcome back! I hope you all had a relaxing winter break.

Yeah, it sucks that we have class again, but hey, that means AHA weekly meetings again!

Meeting #11: Jessica Ahlquist and Religion in High School

What: A discussion of high schools and their violation of the separation of church and state (thats our 1st amendment y'all!)
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: Because classes are super easy the first week back!

Wow: You kids call it "Chill-abus Week", right?

-Michael

Update: A Charity Victory

2011-12-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month,

AHA put out the call to internet atheistseverywhere, asking for donations for our Second Harvest Foodbank FundDrive. The response was immediate andoverwhelming. Thanks to support fromHemant and the fine folks over at Friendly Atheist (and additionally two moderatelysuccessful Reddit posts) we were able to raise an astounding $1010 within 12hours alone. This works out to afundraising rate of roughly $750,000 per year. Unfortunately... this was the kind of trend that can only be sustained for so long. Nevertheless, by the end of November AHA collected dozens of donations, ranging from $5 to $100, for a total of about $1500 in onlinecontributions. At our weekly meetings leading up to Thanksgiving, AHA members themselves gladly coughed up several hundred dollars in cash.

That us led to a Grand Total of… $2,000 raised!

The biggest check I’ve ever written

As you may recall, this fundraiser also was a bit of afriendly competition between AHA and two religious student organizations on the UW-Madison campus. You might be wondering what the outcome ofthat little contest was. Well, theresults are in, and they speak for themselves!

I’m extremely proud of this AHA victory, but will keep thegloating to a minimum. Our friends at TheCrossing and the Muslim Student Association are awesome people too. Together, we were able to raise $2,250for the Second Harvest Food Bank: that’s 6,750 meals! Forget about who raised more – everyone wins whenatheists, Christians, and Muslims put aside our differences and work togethertowards a common goal of helping those who are in need.

AHA vs. Badger Catholic

2011-12-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

Apologies to all the Madisonian non-believers for the belated post, but it is here at last: the blog update regarding the now-infamous AHA-Badger Catholic debate. On that fateful day (December 7th) at 7 in the evening, AHA officers Chris Calvey, Mike Ramuta, Laura Burns, and Quinn Heck courageously battled (had an intelligent discussion with) four Badger Catholic representatives concerning stem cell research, abortion, contraception, and gay marriage, respectively. The debate was featured in The Daily Cardinal as well as the Badger Herald; if you wish to read the articles, they can be found here (Daily Cardinal) and here (Badger Herald). In addition, if, by some cruel twist of fate, you could not make the event, consider yourself blessed. The AHA officers, being very forward-thinking individuals, recorded the entire debate and put it on the AHA YouTube channel for your eternal viewing pleasure.

The AHA asked all of those who attended the debate to rate their opinions on each of the four topics on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being “completely disagree with,” 5 being “completely agree with,” both before and after the debate. The scores received were then recorded by our wonderful treasurer Chris. Though most of the 103 scorecards collected did not reveal any change in opinion, there were some points awarded to both sides. Badger Catholic garnered 20 points in its direction, while the AHA acquired 28. Let us allow the numbers to speak for themselves. However, all in all, both sides did an excellent job. The AHA would like to thank Badger Catholic for participating in this event with us; it was not only educational, but a lot of fun. We plan on hosting many more such debates in the future.

In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011

2011-12-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

‎"In some ways I feel sorry for racists and for religious fanatics, because they so much miss the point of being human, and deserve a sort of pity. But then I harden my heart, and decide to hate them all the more, because of the misery they inflict and because of the contemptible excuses they advance for doing so."

-Christopher Hitchens
Letters to a Young Contrarian

AHA Emails #10: 2011 Wrap Up

2011-12-13T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Madison Atheists!

We've almost made it to the end of the semester!

Take a break from studying for finals and come to our weekly meeting on... well, everything

What: A discussion on our debate with Badger Catholic, youtube videos, The War on Christmas, and whatever else we feel like

When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: We might bring cookies and it'll be fun!
Wow: That does sound fun!

Also...

A big thanks to everyone who came to our debate last Wednesday!

It was a great event and we cannot wait to do another.

If you couldn't see the debate in person, go ahead and watch it on our fancy new youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/wiscatheists

Finally...

An equally big thanks to all who helped donate to our fundraiser for Second Harvest Foodbank

It was ridiculously successful and with your help, we've raised $2000!

Donation are closed for now, but you can start saving up now for our next fundraiser in the upcoming year!

AHA Weekly Update

2011-12-05T21:24:00.001-08:00

Hey Madison Atheists!

Something something something Rose Bowl! Sports!

Well, AHA has had an exciting week too! Read on to find out!

There will be no usual meeting this week... because we're having a debate with Badger Catholic instead!!!

Join AHA and Badger Catholic in a provocative debate on Abortion, Stem Cell Research, Contraception, & Gay Marriage

Its on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm in Union South's Varsity Hall

There will be a Q&A section as well, so you can ask your own hard hitting questions!

Officer Quinn is covering Gay Marriage, I will be covering Abortion, Treasurer Chris has Stem Cell Research, and Officer Laura has Contraception

Come to cheer us on, stay for Chris' breakdance victory moves!

RSVP and tell your friends on the facebook event page

Thanks to everyone that came over to Dan Barker's Speech On Church-State Separation last Wednesday!

It was a great success and we're so proud to have great speakers come to Madison to talk to our group!

Stay tuned for more info on our next big speaker...

Couldn't make the event? Watch it on our brand new Youtube Channel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/wiscatheists

The Importance of Church-State Separation

2011-12-01T20:11:00.001-08:00

Last night, AHA was proud to present the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation: Dan Barker. Dan gave a rousing talk on our country's proud secular history, and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment in particular - which Jefferson famously described as "building a wall of separation between Church and State." Today, groups like the FFRF and Americans United are on the front lines of a never-ending struggle to protect this most vital constitutional principle.

If you weren't able to attend the event... you're in luck! AHA is thrilled to finally debut our very own YouTube Channel. We'll be recording and uploading all future AHA events to the channel - so be sure to Subscribe! And while you're at it: Favorite, Like, Share, Upvote, Tweet, and any other social media buzzverbs I may be forgetting. Check it out:

AHA Weekly Update

2011-11-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Madison Atheists!

Have a restful Thanksgiving Break?

Great, because AHA has a ton of stuff coming up, and you should totally join us!

This week, instead of our usual meeting, we will have Dan Barker talk about "The Importance of Church-State Separation"!

The co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Dan Barker, will give a talk ranging from the history of Jefferson's "wall of separation" in the Establishment Clause (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...) all the way to the work the FFRF does today to preserve it.

It is on Wednesday the 30th at 7pm in 6210 Social Sciences

RSVP on the facebook event page

Want more of the Freedom From Religion Foundation?

Join AHA in a tour of the FFRF on Saturday, December 3rd from 1pm to 3pm.

Its at Freethought Hall near the Capitol Meet us here! (map)

We'll take a tour of the global headquarters of the FFRF and end the day with an interfaith dialogue with the Christians from Beloit College and the Maranatha Baptist College.

Come along! It'll be great!

Not enough AHA for ya? Well, we've got another event next Wednesday too!

Watch AHA and Badger Catholic in a battle of wits at our first student debate!

We'll be covering abortion, stem cell research, contraception, gay marriage, and a Q&A section!

Its on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm in Union South's Varsity Hall

Come for the arguments, Stay for the potential rap battle

Want to invite your facebook friends to the event? Heres the event page!

Finally, the AHA would like to give a huge thanks to all those who donated to our

ridiculously successful fund drive for Second Harvest Foodbank

Thanks to all of you, we've raised over $1,500!

We are so proud and cannot wait to do this again.

Thanks a lot everyone!

AHA Joins War on Hunger

2011-11-20T11:27:00.001-08:00

Times are tough.
According to a recent Gallup Poll, in the past year more than 20% of Americans reported not having enough money to purchase the food that they or their families needed. As a result of the global financial meltdown and ensuing economic downturn, more and more households are turning to soup kitchens and food pantries to make ends meet. Across the country, organizations which provide food assistance are struggling to keep up with rising demand. The situation in Wisconsin is no different. From a recent article in Madison's Capitol Times:

The pattern is the same in food pantries throughout Dane County, where visits rose 56 percent from 2007 to 2010, when the number reached 132,000. Visits are on a pace this year to jump another 13 percent, says Brockel. His agency provides food and technical support to the Dane County Food Pantry, a group of about 50 pantries, shelters and meal sites operating out of churches, community centers and service agencies. "We hear from all the pantries that they are setting records every week," he says.

Atheists, united, have the power to make a difference. Thus, AHA is proud to announce a new partnership with the non-sectarian Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin. Every year, Second Harvest distributes more than 8.6 million pounds of food, for free, to 141,000 hungry people (43% of which are children). They have also received a four star Charity Navigator rating - indicative of an exceptional level of accountability, transparency, and efficiency. Best of all, through its relationships with manufacturers and retailers, Second Harvest is able to provide three meals for every $1 donated. Check it out:

Source

To make things more interesting... there is a twist!
AHA will be competing with The Crossing campus ministry and the Muslim Student Association to see which group is able to raise the most money for the Second Harvest Food Bank by the end of November. This is, of course, a friendly competition - and should be taken as an example of the way that, regardless of the particular faith traditions we come from, we can all join together under the common cause of trying to make the world a better place.

However, bragging rights are at stake!
I want AHA to win, and you can help. We've recently implemented a "Donate" button at the top right hand corner of the blog. You can contribute using PayPal or any major credit card. 100% of the money raised through the blog between now and the end of the funding drive will go towards our total donation to Second Harvest. Currently, AHA has raised about $175 from our members alone. By tapping into the generosity of the atheist internet hive-mind, I am declaring a fundraising goal of $500 - that's 1,500 meals - by the end of the month. Your donation will help ensure an AHA victory, thus proving once and for all that atheists are more moral than Christians and Muslims. (That was a joke) Seriously though, if this contest ignites within us a competitive, wallet-opening spirit... then we will have successfully fed more hungry people, and ultimately that is the most important thing.

Edit:
11/22/11
This post was featured on the Friendly Atheist blog thanks to our dear friend Hemant Mehta. I'm a sucker for statistics, so I'll be updating this post as donations come rolling in.
12:00pm: Friendly Atheist post goes live.
12:37pm: First $100 raised.
1:10pm: Up to $200!
1:45pm: $300 - Shout out to Richard Wade of "Ask Richard" fame.
2:10pm: $350.
2:28pm: $450 ... Almost there!
3:05pm: $505 - Fundraising goal achieved! Can this rate be sustained? New Goal: $1000
3:49pm: $600
5:05pm: $700 - Victory will be ours!
6:46pm: $845
8:05pm: $905 - So close to breaking the $1k barrier...
9:15pm: $995 - I can almost taste it!
11:27pm: $1010! - SUCCESS Unbelievable. $1000 in 12 hours. Thank you all.

11/24/11 Thanksgiving Update
Donations continue to roll in. New total: $1350!

AHA Emails #9: Atheism & The Law

2011-11-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

And you can keep on partying at AHA this week with our topic... Atheism & The Law

What: A discussion of how atheism fits in with government of the past, present, and future
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: Because as Justice Robert H. Jackson said "The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with, and even pay for, a good deal of rubbish."

Wow: Yeah, thats a nice quote.

Also, don't forget! We're still raising money for Second Harvest Foodbank!

So bring some money to our meeting and help feed some families in Wisconsin

If you can't come to a meeting to donate, you can donate through our blog.

(And we're competing with The Crossing (a campus Christian group) and The Muslim Student Association... So lets win!)

We are down to our last few shirts so get them while you can!

They are on sale for the low, low price of $15

Conform and dress like the rest of the group does!

Also, there's a Bertrand Russell quote on the back (super cool!)

AHA Emails #8: Science, Philosophy, and Our Awesome Universe

2011-11-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hey all!

If we survive the nearby asteroid tonight, we'll have quite a fun week coming up!

And speaking of asteroids, our meeting tomorrow will be on The Wisdom of Carl Sagan!

What: A discussion of science, philosophy, and the awesomeness of our Universe
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: How else will you celebrate Carl Sagan Day?

Wow: ...other than wearing your favorite turtleneck

Also, don't forget! We're raising money for Second Harvest Foodbank!

So bring some money to our meeting and help feed some families in Wisconsin

(And we're competing with The Crossing (a campus Christian group) and The Muslim Student Association... So lets win!)

If you want to further celebrate the greatness of Sagan, stop by the Rathskeller tomorrow between noon and 4pm!

We'll be hanging out at the literature table, showing some Carl Sagan clips and talking space stuff

Oh yeah, we've still got T-Shirts!

These highly collectable, wonderfully designed shirts are going fast so get one before we run out!

They are on sale for the low, low price of $15

Conform and dress like the rest of the group does!

Also, there's a Bertrand Russell quote on the back (super cool!)

AHA Emails: Meeting #7 - Morality

2011-10-31T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!

I hope you all had an awesome halloween! (though I doubt any of you had a cooler costume than my "Slutty Carl Sagan"...)

Well, we've got another great meeting this week, and this time it's on Morality!

What: A discussion of morality and how it is that Atheists can be moral
When: Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: Godless doesn't mean heartless!

Wow: (well, you nihilists will probably argue that everyone is heartless)

Also don't forget... T-Shirts!

We are down to our last few shirts so get them while you can!

They are on sale for the low, low price of $15

Conform and dress like the rest of the group does!

Also, there's a Bertrand Russell quote on the back (super cool!)

AHA Emails: Meeting #6 - The Value of the Human Life

2011-10-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hey AHA,

If you're one of the 100 new members of the AHA email list, welcome!

I'm Mike Ramuta, the President of Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics @ UW Madison.

As you may know, we are the only secular student group on campus and are dedicated to: providing a supportive social network for the non-religious student community, raising public awareness about the misconceptions surrounding nonbelievers, enriching the campus by sponsoring educational events/speakers and through collaborations with other student groups, and participating in volunteering/social projects to help make the world a better place for everyone. If that sounds like fun to you, then you should get involved!

And the most simple way to get involved is to come to our weekly meetings!

What: A discussion on the value of human life

When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.

Where: 155 Van Hise

Why: Because its about time we argued about abortion

Wham: Oh, that'll be quite an argument

Also... thanks a lot to those who visited us during out pizza sale today.

It was a huge success!

Mass Email Draws Mass Ire

2011-10-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

Today, we sent out a mass email to all of the 40,000 - 50,000 students on campus. This is a service provided to all registered student organizations willing to cough up $100 for it... and it was worth every penny. In less than 24 hours, we recruited 86 new members to our email list, added 63 people to our Facebook group, and our blog traffic spiked by about 100x. Hey new people!
For those who missed it, here's what our mass email looked like:

Are you an atheist, agnostic, skeptic, pastafarian, or otherwise nonreligious student?
Come join Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics at UW-Madison this Fall!
AHA is a great way to meet fellow nonbelievers here on campus, all while getting involved in the secular movement. Our meetings will be every Wednesday at 7 PM in 155 Van Hise.

We hope to see you there!

In the meantime, join our email list for info regarding upcoming
meetings and events by simply sending a blank email to this address.
And be sure to check out our Facebook group.
Additionally, if you’re blog-savvy, we have one of those as well.

Pretty innocuous, yes? Tens of thousands of people calmly tolerated this minor intrusion into their life, deleted the email, and then proceeded to move on with the rest of their day. Others could not resist the urge to share their disagreement, pity, and anger with us. I've taken the liberty of organizing the best of these replies into a few rough categories. As you will see, some messages unfortunately could belong in multiple groupings.
No attempt was made to correct grammatical errors.

Group 1: Seems to have a problem with the shift key.

TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST!
Never send this e-mail to me AGAIN!
GOD LOVESYOU! :)
UNSUBSCRIBE!
GOD ROCKS!Good luck on judgment day!
REMOVE ME
I dobelieve in God, please REMOVE ME FROM THIS EMAIL LIST!

Group 2: It's the thought that counts, I suppose.

I'll pray for you.
I am notinterested, but will keep you in my prayers.
Hello. Please remove me from your email list,thanks. Also, I am sorry that your club has such beliefs, that is anunfortunate way to live. I will pray for you.
Take meoff of your email list.... God loves you.
just want to let you know that GOD still loves you, and weare all his children.

Group 3: Looks like someones got a case of the Mondays!

why is this being sent to my email. do you evenknow if i'm religious or not. your club is stupid.
You'regroup sucks. You're going to Hell!
Ummm....I'm a religious jew. Don't send this crap to me.
I ama Christian. Take your ignorance elsewhere.
Thisis bull shit. Evil only exists in this world because of the absence of GOD. Take me off this email list please. Hope you enjoy yournon-belivers party, losers.

Group 4: Missing the point, badly.

Don'temail me these requests. If you choose to be "atheist," thenyou call yourself god. Please take me off whatever list you havecreated. Thanks.
Why is agroup like this needed? Is it something you fear or do you just hatechristians that much to want to exclude them?
the secularmovement? really? more like popular culture- lolkatz- don't send yourstuff here
Feelfree to never send me emails again. I don't need to hear this kind of stuffshowing up in my mailbox. I'm a faithful Christian and I'm sorry that you'velost your way.

Group 5: Bat shit crazy.

You live in a nation under GOD, indivisible, with liberty andjustice for all. His miracles surround you every day. Open your eyes. The only person that would die for you are the men and women of the USArmed Forces and the Lord Jesus Christ. Get with the program fools andstop spreading this useless shit. There are real problems out there.
Ijust wanted to let you know that Jesus loves you and he is coming back soon.All will bow down and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Have a blessed and wonderful day!<3

Keep in mind these messages are all coming from students at the University of Wisconsin.
Folks, we have a lot of work left to do.

AHA Emails: Meeting #5 - Atheism In Public

2011-10-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hey UW nonbelievers,
I bet you're all excited for the apocalypse this Friday,
but in the meantime, lets have another meeting! This time on... Atheism in Public!

What: A discussion of how to behave as an Nonbeliever in the public eye
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: This might come in handy if you ever want to go outside
Wham: That does sound useful/insightful

Also... a huge thanks to the wonderful people who came out on Sunday and helped us clean State Street!
It was a bunch of fun and we cannot wait to do it again.

And... want to support AHA and eat food at the same time?
If you're having trouble reading this email because you're jumping up and down so much from excitement,
then you should stop by Chamberlin Hall on Tuesday the 25th!
We will be selling pizza all day! And all proceeds will go to the AHA!
Too poor to afford pizza? Then come on by and say hello, thats nice too.

AHA Cleans Up State Street

2011-10-17T00:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, a bunch of atheists picked up other people's shit.

AHA members - traditionally having no other plans on Sunday afternoons - gathered together for the beneficent purpose of beautifying State Street (Madison's main pedestrian thoroughfare). We were for the most part ignored by passersby, but when we did receive comments, they were unequivocally positive. At least a dozen people explicitly thanked us for helping.

For those who couldn't be there to join us, here's a few of the highlights:
Grossest Item: Used band-aids.
Greatest Public Service: Tie: broken glass & yet-to-be-stepped-on gum.
Most Common Item: By an overwhelming margin: cigarette butts.
Best Reaction: "I love you!" - shouted from a passing, dancing skateboarder.
Why???: Trash near trash cans.

Go Team AHA!

AHA strives to do our part to make the UW campus, and the world at large, a better place to live for everyone. Who could possibly be against that? Well, some of you naysayers may be wondering what business an atheist group has cleaning up garbage. Read on, friend!

1) For one, volunteering tends to make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside. As the great agnostic Robert Ingersoll once said, "The way to be happy is to make others so." Thus, even the most self-centered of cynics out there ought to be volunteering in soup kitchens, if only to masturbatorily activate the pleasure centers in their own brain.
2) A deeply ingrained meme in our society is the idea that religion motivates people to do good. To whatever extent that is actually true, hooray! However, we must dispel the misconception that religion has a monopoly on morality. To to this we can point to prison population statistics, or to the 97% of scientists in the National Academy who are atheists, or to the secular Scandinavian countries which outrank the U.S. on nearly every conceivable measure of a fair and decent society- but, as the cliche goes, actions speak louder than words. By openly volunteering as atheists, we provide tangible evidence that people are good without god.
3) Most importantly, we volunteer because its the right thing to do. Atheists are in the unique position of believing that no celestial aid is ever going to come from above to solve our problems. With this realization comes a weighty responsibility. We know that the only way to preserve our planet, to conqueror diseases, to vanquish poverty, to alleviate suffering, to make any moral progress in society ... is to do it ourselves.

If we don't clean up State Street, no one will.

AHA Emails: Meeting #4 - Indoctrination

2011-10-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Madison nonbelievers!

Midterms over yet? Well if not, take a break from studying and head over to AHA Meeting #4!

This week, we'll be discussing Indoctrination.

What: A discussion of indoctrination and how we should raise children intellectually!
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.
Where: 155 Van Hise
Why: You care about the children, right?

Wow: Yeah, I just accused you of being a bad parent

Want even more AHA? Of course you do!

Well dust off your bowling supplies and join us for...

AHA Bowling Night!

This Friday, 6pm at The Sett in Union South

It'll be loads of fun so come along if you can spare the time! (pun!)

RSVP on the facebooks if you can make it!

Also we have in store...

Clean Up State Street!

Seriously ya'll, you will probably spend the weekend drunkenly carousing State Street,

so do your bit and help us pick up litter around campus!

We'll be meeting this Sunday, 1pm at the steps to Memorial Union.

After we help make the campus more awesome, we'll grab some late lunch too, so be there!

RSP here!

-Mike

AHA Emails: Meeting #3 - Death

2011-10-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hey AHA,

Join us tomorrow for our best meeting yet!

So far we've reviewed labels in atheism, and how we have broken away from our religious pasts.

This week we will discuss something that has fascinated humans for thousands of years: death.

We won't leave anything on the table, so come and enjoy what is sure to be an interesting discussion.

What: A discussion of death and all its mystery.

When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 P.M.

Where: 155 Van Hise

Why: Even you will die someday.

Link of the week: A cute analogy (some of you may have seen this already).

Buttons! (available soon)

2011-09-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hey AHA,

As Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics grows, we continue to look for exciting ways to get our name out in public. This year we will be rolling out a few new strategies to raise the public profile of our organization, starting with some awesome 2 ¼” buttons. We will be making many versions of these over the course of the year, and we are happy to take suggestions and submissions. If you have an idea or like to design, send us something! *(details below). In the meantime as we wait for you to get on Illustrator or MS Paint, we’ve created a few designs to break in the button maker. Check them out.

Show your pride and support for AHA by wearing one of these around campus. Perfect for backpacks, purses, man purses, and just about anything you can think of.

All designs available at meetings soon.

*Buttons are 2.75 inches in diameter. Design must fit inside 2.25 inch diameter circle in the center.

AHA Emails: Meeting #2

2011-09-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics!

Unsure if any of those labels apply to you? Well, tomorrow we'll be talking about definitions of atheism, agnosticism, and other related beliefs. So come join us for an interesting discussion!

What: Labels In Atheism

When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 7pm

Where: 155 Van Hise

Why: So you know what you're talking about when alrguing with Brother Jed

Also! This Saturday, the great Tim Minchin is coming to Madison to play a show at The Barrymore Theatre at 8pm. A group of us from AHA will be going and you should come too!

Tickets are $30 and we'll talk more about it at the meeting!

Link of the Week: A preview of the awesome Tim Minchin

AHA Emails: Kickoff Meeting

2011-09-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody (Atheists, Humanists, Agnostics, Freethinkers, Skeptics, Pastafarians, People Who Believe That They Defy Labels, etc.)

Thanks for showing an interest in the Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics @ UW-Madison!

My name is Mike Ramuta and I'm the President of AHA.

As you may know, we are the only secular student group on campus and are dedicated to: providing a supportive social network for the non-religious student community, raising public awareness about misconceptions surrounding nonbelievers, enriching the campus by sponsoring educational events/speakers and through collaborations with other student groups, and participating in volunteering/social projects to help make the world a better place for everyone.

If that sounds like a fun time for you, come to our kickoff event to learn more!

When: Wednesday, September 21st at 7:00PM

Where: 104 Van Hise

What: We will introduce AHA, have a discussion, and eat free pizza

Why: You read that right, we will have FREE PIZZA!

Wow: That sounds awesome

I hope to see you then!

A Year In Review

2011-09-18T23:55:00.000-07:00

2010-2011 was, without a doubt, the best year yet for AHA! To make amends for not updating the blogoften enough… here’s a summary of everything we did condensed into one epic post.

October 2010:

AHA was delightedto collaborate with Badger Catholic to co-sponsor a debate between Dan Barkerand Dinesh D'Souza on the topic of “Is God the Problem?” The event was a smashing success, to the point where the Memorial Union Theater (which seats1,400) became so crowded that many students had to be turned away at the doorfor safety!

(Photos courtesy of Ingrid Lass)

DebateHighlight:

Dinesh: “You always ask for evidence.”

Dan: “Well excuse me!”

DebateLowlight:

D’Souza, inhis closing remark, accuses Dan of being a “wounded theist… obsessed withdenouncing God.” In perhaps the mostidiotic argument of the night, Dinesh deftly observes that there are no bookslike “The Unicorn Delusion” - and wonders why atheists don’t just ignorereligion like they do Unicorns. *facepalm*

Thumbs up for flawless logic!

February 2011:

AHA becameone of the founding members of MadCOR – the Madison Area Coalition ofReason. MadCOR is an umbrellaorganization designed to coordinate the efforts of freethinking groups based inMadison and across the state of Wisconsin. Other founders included the Madison Skeptics, Humanist Union of Madison, and Verusono. At a meeting in April with Fred Edwords (National Director of the UnitedCoalition of Reason), representatives from these groups began to formulateplans for the official launch of MadCOR – which is coming soon!

Yours Truly with Fred Edwords.

March 2011:

Inconjunction with a speaking tour organized by the Secular Student Alliance, AHAbrought journalist Ted Cox to campus to discuss his shocking experiences as anundercover atheist at a Christian gay-to-straight “therapy”camp. This event was co-sponsored by theLGBT Campus Center, one of the most important resources on campus for the LGBTQcommunity. We are thrilled to be their allies, and hope this event is the first of many collaborations between the atheistand LGBT movements on campus.

EventHighlight:

Ted demonstrates "the motorcycle" - a position designed to provide the fatherly male embrace you were apparently deprived of as a child... or some kind of bullshit along those lines.

What? You don't feel less gay?

April 2011:

AHAspearheaded a large interfaith panel discussion on the topic of “Gender, Sex,and Marriage.” Student representativesfrom a wide variety of religious student organizations on campus participated:the Diamond Way Buddhist Center, Latter-day Saint Student Association, MadisonUnitarian Universalist Young Adult Campus Ministry (MUUYACM), UW Student Impact(Campus Crusade for Christ), and Hillel. The panelists had an illuminating discussion - and some amicabledisagreement - on controversial issues such as homosexuality, contraception, gaymarriage, women’s rights, and masturbation.

PanelHighlight:

Afterthe panel, a member of the audience approached me and asked what atheism andagnosticism are. At first, I thoughtshe was looking for a clarification on the fuzzy lines between agnosticism and“weak” atheism. Actually, she had no idea what either term meant! This realization - that some people don’t even know what atheism is at all- can be shocking to those whohave been involved in our movement for a long time, but I think it’s illustrative of howimportant our outreach efforts are on campus.

May 2011:

AHA embarkedon a new initiative with the Lubar Institute (for the Study of the AbrahamicReligions) in response to President Obama’s “Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge.” Dozens of religious student groups on campus are also participating,in what will be a year-long series of interfaith events. I’m glad to report that the UW's proposal is veryinclusive of non-religious students, and I applaud all of the staff of the LubarInstitute for genuinely being committed to including atheists under thesometimes troublesome “interfaith” umbrella. Stay tuned for more information on AHA's contribution to the program, which will include a secular symposium on "The Importance of Church State Separation."

Conclusion:

Oneof AHA’s long term goals is to “foster a greater degree of mutual understandingbetween atheists and people of faith.” This past year, we've made great stridestowards developing positive relationships with just about every major religiousstudent group on campus. In doing so, we’re not only raising awareness about what nonreligious people think, but are also ourselves learning a lot about what our fellow students believe- and making new friends along the way.

As a result of all of these accomplishments, AHA was awarded the 2011 “Best Cooperation" awardby the Secular Student Alliance. It's truly an honor to have our efforts recognized by the SSA.
Check it out!

Booyah.

AHA: Back In Buisness

2010-09-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

AHA, now in its 6th consecutive year of existence, is proud to be back with a vengeance this semester. Perhaps you were one of the thousands of students who saw our table at the Fall Student Organization Fair? If not, here's what you missed out on:

(AHA Officers in a rare moment when our table was not surrounded by people)

We collected over six pages of signatures in our signup notebook, adding 150+ new members to the email list in a single night! Having missed out on the Org Fair last year, this bodes well for the spectacular growth in membership we can expect to see each and every year for the next three generations of incoming freshman.

In other news, as always, there is much to be angry about in the atheist universe. Earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI visted the UK to (amongst other things) blast secularism and blame atheists for the crimes of the Nazis:

"Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live... As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society..."

(Full transcript here)

Luckily, I need not waste my time constructing a rebuttal on the historical inaccuracy and ironic hypocrisy of the Pope's comments. Richard Dawkins has it covered, when he spoke to a crowd of over 10,000 at the "Protest the Pope" rally earlier today in London. Watch below:

Then, at the height of our collective rage - a ray of light appears on the horizon.

Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, denounced the Pope's comments, saying that he "should get rid of his obsession against atheism and show some maturity and inclusiveness." Further, Zed argued "as Catholics and Hindus and others had freedom of their belief systems and were respected for their respective choices, and so should be the atheists. A religious leader of Pope's stature should have been more inclusive."

The may be hope for us humans yet.

Why We Must Draw Muhammad

2010-07-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

The following is an essay I wrote in defense of the Muhammad chalking campaign. It was recently published in the eMpirical, the newsletter of the Secular Student Alliance:

Let’s get it out of the way: while it is true that having a legal right to perform an offensive action is not a sufficient moral justification, AHA and the other campus groups who chalked Muhammad did so for the following reasons.

1) To stand in solidarity with those who have been threatened with death for drawing Muhammad, and to eventually diminish the risk they face by creating more “targets.”

2) To publicly demonstrate that violence and intimidation are not acceptable in a free society; and that we will not allow ourselves to be silenced by them.

3) To convey the notion that Islam, or indeed any set of ideas, should not be granted an undue immunity from criticism.

4) To protect our right to criticize religion and to perform actions considered blasphemous, even if many individuals find this offensive.

Our actions were met with outrage from Muslim Student Associations, interfaith groups, and even many members of the atheist community. Responses often derailed into condescending lectures about how people ought to treat one another on college campuses. We maintain that defending the principles summarized above outweighs the sensible precept that one should generally avoid offending others. The most intransigent critics summarily dismiss that drawing Muhammad can ever be a statement in favor of free speech, or at best argue that there are better ways to do so.

Context is everything. We did not, as many have accused, set out to offend Muslims just for the sake of offending them. We are responding to a disturbing movement in western societies towards a “chilling” of free speech, in which the South Park episode was merely the latest of a long series of events. During the Danish cartoon controversy not a single newspaper, television station, or magazine in the US was willing to display the Muhammad cartoons uncensored. (Save for one notable exception, which was shamefully pulled from every Borders and Waldenbooks stores.) This voluntary censorship was not done in order to avoid upsetting delicate American sensibilities, but rather out of fear of violent retaliation. Unfortunately, the fear is legitimate, and the media conglomerates understandably felt the responsibility to keep their employees safe. However, by kowtowing to religious extremists they set a precedent which rewarded bullying and rendered the intimidating parties more powerful. As history repeated itself this May, Lars Vilks was attacked at a public university in Sweden and his house was set on fire. The lack of support for Lars and others who depict Muhammad is outrageous. If our media, our government, and our intellectuals won’t stand up for free expression, who will?

I also feel compelled to address the frequent parallels that have been drawn between our stick figures and various forms of “hate speech.” According to Eboo, innocuous drawings such as this are equally as offensive as swastikas. The key difference which has apparently eluded those who make such comparisons is that swastikas, the “n-word,” burning crosses, and the like have a long and well-established history of being used as symbols of hatred and intolerance towards a particular group of people. Happy stick figures of Muhammad have no such significance! Eboo could have at least reserved his hyperbolic commentary for the defamatory drawings produced during EDMD, some of which undoubtedly do demonize Muslims and are therefore admittedly much less defensible. The SSA affiliates who participated in EDMD understood the risk of alienating fellow classmates; which is why we reached out to Muslim communities, published blogs, wrote Op Eds, sponsored discussions, and took every conceivable precaution to make our message unmistakably clear.

The absurdity of the swastika comparison shines light on another elephant in the room – Eboo and his secular compatriots advocate a kind of “kumbaya” religious pluralism which is incompatible with an honest discussion about religion. Interfaith dialogue should not require that all participants venerate what everyone else personally holds sacred. Rather than pretending that all religious beliefs are compatible, we need to cultivate relationships which tolerate amicable disagreements. You have the right to potentially offend others by not following (or maybe even questioning) their religious prescriptions, but concede that others have the right to offend you equally. In the marketplace of ideas, no single group gets to dictate the rules of discourse. It is ridiculous to politely ask others to confine their freedom of expression within your own predetermined limits, and then to call them bigots when they politely refuse. Minority groups absolutely have the right to feel welcome on campus, but not if they define “feeling welcome” as being contingent upon never having their beliefs challenged. No one has the right to not be offended. It is especially depressing that this needs point needs to be explained on college campuses, of all places.

We must all eventually come to the agreement that no ideas should be exempt from criticism and satire. In a free society, even opinions which the majority may find reprehensible have the right to be heard. The fundamental underlying principle of free speech is that it applies just as much for unpopular and offensive views as it does to orthodox ones. Our right to free expression is being eroded not only by religious extremists, but also by moderate groups such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which has introduced so-called “blasphemy laws” to the U.N. When our ability to criticize religion is under threat, as it clearly is today, we have a moral obligation to exercise it to ensure that it is not lost. Although drawing Muhammad appears to unfairly target Muslims, rest assured that we are not indifferent to the injustices perpetrated by other religions. Wherever religious groups overstep their bounds, atheists should not shy away from opposing them, even when doing so will be offensive.

“To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men.”

- Abraham Lincoln

A Modest Reply

2010-05-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Below is the response I received this morning from the V.P. of the MSA:

"Dear Chris,

First of all, I'm really amazed by the coincidental dates of these events which are either during last week of class or a week after finals week. I know this specific date isn’t something you “made up” but rather a pre-scheduled date but the point that I’m trying to make is that picking such awful dates to deliver a message reflects a “possible” ill intention of the creator (original creator of the event and not you “Chris”).

That being said, I would like to let you know that at the moment, most student are off campus and thus the MSA would not be able to show up for this event. If you are really concerned about your freedom of speech then holding up a panel and a discussion meeting sometime during the fall or spring semesters would be the way to go. After such discussion, both groups (MSA and AHA) can proceed with their agendas easily without having a problem. However, you have already declined such a request two times, when I asked for it on the email 12 hours before the last Draw Mohammed event and when Rashid asked for it right before the chalking. Also, I have seen a couple of these blogs, one of which you quoted “parts” of my reply email and then received hate emails claiming that I “threatened” you and the AHA. Apparently, they were referring to me explaining my interpretations of a university’s policy to you!

Honestly, I’m beginning to question your peaceful intentions (excuse my honesty) because of your past actions. BUT, if you would like to prove to the MSA otherwise, then the MSA is willing to take that extra step to create harmony between the groups.

As far as commenting on the “one” stick figure, I personally believe that anything around the lines of “We have the right to depict the greatness of Prophet Mohammed” or “We have the right to depict the great character of Mohammed” would work. Most importantly is that you acknowledge the greatness of whom your depicting and stating that you’re depicting their character and not some false hate images.

That’s all I have got to say. You can go ahead and carry on your event and I’m glad you emailed us a couple of days in advance this time.

Ahmed Fikri"

And here is my response:

"Dear Ahmed,

Thanks for your reply!

To address the timing issue, I agree with you that it’s unfortunate that these events took place at such an inconvenient time during the semester. I doubt that the creator of “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” had any ill intentions in choosing the date – given that she has subsequently distanced herself from the idea and indicated that she never intended it to be taken seriously. I am of course aware that most students are gone at this point; many AHA members are also off campus by now. Nevertheless, I was hoping to have an informal meeting today with any MSA/AHA students who are still around.

I am a little confused about your comments about blogs which have covered these events. When you say that “one of which you quoted “parts” of my reply email” are you suggesting that I unfairly edited your email to me? If so, this is simply untrue. Your response in its entirety is posted on the AHA blog here. (If you’re referring to another blog, I have no control over their content)

By “and then received hate emails claiming that I “threatened” you and the AHA” do you mean that you have personally received hate mail? If so, let me apologize on behalf of whoever took such misguided and unacceptable actions. No matter how much we disagree, I would never suggest that anyone is justified in harassing you. However, it is true that I referred to your actions (i.e. contacting the Dean) as “intimidation.” Whether you intended your email to be a threat or not, at least one AHA member chose not to participate in the event out of the fear that doing so would result in disciplinary actions from the University. For the record, I later referred to the MSA’s modifications to our drawings as “creative,” “non-confrontational” and “cunning.” Greg Epstein blogged about this very issue on CNN today.

Finally, I am thrilled at your suggestion of holding a panel discussion next semester. I sincerely look forward to working with the MSA on putting such an event together in the Fall. Let me clarify that the reason we declined your previous offers was because the prerequisite to such a discussion was that we cancel our chalking event. (“I politely suggest that you cancel this event and prefer instead that we meet and discuss the issue respectfully”) A discussion, while less offensive and arguably more productive, would have failed to adequately demonstrate our commitment to free expression. I would also like to add that at the event itself, I made it very clear that AHA would be interested in having a discussion/panel/meeting with the MSA in the future. I intended to follow through with this, and prove to you that AHA is committed to cultivating positive relationships with all religious groups on campus.

There is no need to apologize for your honesty. The ability to express oneself, even in offensive ways, is the cornerstone of a free society. :)"

I really do hope that a panel discussion will happen next Fall.

A Modest Proposal

2010-05-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

The following letter was sent to the President and Vice President of the MSA:

Dear Ahmed and Rashid,

This Thursday, May 20^th, is Everybody Draw Muhammad Day – a fictional event originally thought up by a Seattle cartoonist which has “gone viral” and become a very real movement. In the aftermath of the chalking efforts that took place at UIUC, our own campus, and Northwestern; dozens of blogs have picked up the story. Prominent commentators include critics such as Eboo Patel from the Washington Post on the one hand, and vocal proponents like "The Friendly Atheist" Hemant Mehta on the other. Additionally, the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) has issued a press release, and many SSA affiliate groups are poised to participate in chalking Muhammad on their campuses this Thursday.

We feel that repeating our previous event will not serve to illustrate any points which have not already been raised. I have been struggling to develop compromises which will allow AHA to accomplish its goals while minimizing any disrespect shown towards the Muslim community on campus. Here is what I would like to propose: On Thursday at 7pm, both of our groups could meet at the steps of Memorial Union. As an acknowledgment of the distress depictions of Muhammad can cause, AHA will agree to only draw a single non-inflammatory stick figure. We understand that any depiction of Muhammad will be offensive, but you may recall that our stick figures were deliberately drawn without any obscene embellishments which would needlessly defame Muhammad or display him in an unfavorable light. AHA will also include a very descriptive explanation about the purpose of the chalking event, in order to provide context and ensure that passers-by do not misinterpret our actions as a sign of xenophobia, hatred, or intolerance. (The MSA could certainly chalk its own message explaining your disapproval.) Then, as a demonstration of your commitment to protecting the freedom of expression, the MSA would agree not to tamper with or our chalking in any way. Of course, it is well within your legal right to modify and even to erase our figures - but understand that we feel compelled to draw Muhammad only because our freedom to do so is under threat. Finally and most importantly - both groups would then proceed to an agreed-upon location and have a peaceful, respectful, and hopefully productive discussion about the many complex issues at stake.

I welcome to your thoughts or suggestions, and I look forward to advancing the dialogue between our groups in a more constructive direction.

-Chris

Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics (AHA) President

I don't think my request was unreasonable... do you?

Why I drew pictures of Mohammed.

2010-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

A) It is my stance that the principle that one should stand in solidarity with people being threatened trumps the principle that one should not offend people.

B) I stand for freedom of speech. I want to demonstrate that I should be allowed legally to express ideas without government preventing me — as is my First Amendment right.

C) I want to express the idea that threatening people with violence is unacceptable in a liberal democratic society.

D) Memes that impede human flourishing should be criticized.

MSA and other organizations walk a fine line. They want to condemn violent acts carried out in the name of Islam but do not want people criticizing their faith or insulting their sensibilities. However, their behavior demonstrates that they think that the latter two outweigh the former and I find this morally repugnant.

So many writers on this subject conflate desires for government change and desires for zeitgeist change. I want both! I want to legally be able to express ideas but I also want to stand in solidarity, condemn threats and criticize ideas that stand in the way of human well-being. Those three have nothing to do with government. Obviously offensive ideas should not be approved of by our society at large but from this it does not follow that they should be censored by the government.

Of course sacred cows should not be slain for the sake of slaying them. However, as I stated before, “The principle that one should stand in solidarity with people being threatened trumps the principle that one should not offend people.”

Now I must deal with the platitude that we are racists or bigots.

Racism:

Criticizing Islam is not racism. Islam is a set of ideas, not a semi-geographically isolated population with certain correlated clusters of alleles. Criticizing Islam would be criticizing a set of ideas — criticizing a set of ideas by definition cannot be racism. No matter how censorious the criticisms of Islam become, they can never be racism.

I think a justifiable conception of racism is, “Racism is the unethical behavior of, all things being equal, not treating individuals as individuals but as the vessels of perceived average traits of an ethnic population they belong to.” Note the difference between treating someone as the perceived traits of a group they cannot control being a part of and treating someone based on the perceived traits of a group they can control being a part of.

Islam’s tenets should be rationally criticized both internally and externally. Criticism and self-criticism are indicators of both a healthy person and community.

Bigotry:

Should one be tolerant of all groups? What about the group of people that abjures all moral responsibility? I disagree with some tenets of Islam. So why shouldn’t I criticize it? If I disagreed with Anarcho-Syndicalism, I would criticize it publicly and loudly. If I feel the same about Islam, why not do the same? Repeat this five times, “Islam is a set of ideas.” Here I helped you. Just read it.

Islam is a set of ideas.

AHA Condems Widespread Attempts to Censor Muhammad Chalkings

2010-05-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last night, we chalked figures of Muhammad across campus from roughly 7-10pm. By noon the next day, the stick figures remained but many of the "Muhammad" labels showed signs of deliberate censorship.

The pictures speak for themselves.

This raises some interesting questions.
Given our mutual love of free speech, would the MSA stand with us against these acts of censorship? I also can't help but wonder, did the people who did this even feel the slightest sense of irony, as the word Muhammad was stamped out beneath their feet?

Keep in mind that this is just a few of the best examples, of which there are many more. Also note that I'm not blaming the MSA (or anyone else) for this, as I didn't see it happen and have no way of knowing who did it - pending further evidence. For all I know, it could have been a single mischievous atheist looking to incite more trouble.

After my last blog post, I'd say the internet hivemind was divided about 50/50 in their opinion about the MSA's response to our event. Some argued that it bordered on the realm of censorship, because AHA's right to free expression was at least somewhat interfered with. I stand by my original statement that is was a cunning response to a rather difficult situation, and it still allowed us to get our point across. Hey, one blog commenter observed, at least they didn't rub out the chalk or pour water on the figures.

Well, somebody did, and now I'm offended.

A common sentiment I've heard the past few days went a little something like this: "I'm totally in favor of free speech and all, but what you're doing is needlessly offensive. Just because you can draw Muhammad doesn't mean that you should."
And my response was simple - we shall see if I can.

As it turns out, no, you cannot draw depictions of Muhammad in Madison. At least, not without having them immediately changed to pictures of Muhammad Ali, and not without having them censored the next day. Let's imagine an alternate universe. Let's say the drawings were never tampered with, but instead were met with nothing more than shrugged shoulders and public admonishment for our childish behavior. In this scenario the egg would be on our faces. Instead, suffice it to say that our point has been proven. The right to criticize religion and perform blasphemous acts needs to be defended more than ever.

As Ed Clint of AFF put it, when similar images were censored at UIUC:
"Any question about the silencing of criticism is now over. This is no longer just about Viacom/Comedy Central but about what is permissible on our own university campuses."

Do we truly cherish freedom of speech? Or do we only pay it lip service, and surrender it willingly upon the slightest cries of offense?

Muhammad will be back.

CONFUSING STICK FIGURES DESCEND ON UW MADISON CAMPUS

2010-05-04T00:25:00.000-07:00

The deed is done... kinda.

Immediately upon arriving at our agreed upon meeting spot, we were somewhat surprised to see a large gathering of MSA students - also armed with chalk. After a brief discussion, and another explanation of the purpose of the event, the MSA informed us that they would not try to prevent us from drawing anything or attempt to censor our work, rather, they would merely be expressing their own freedom of expression by "adding to" our drawings.

Thus, Muhammad (the Prophet) became Muhammad Ali (the Boxer)!

You've got to hand it to them, it was a creative and non-confrontational way to minimize the intolerable offense of seeing stick figures labeled Muhammad. It was a celebration of free speech for everyone! AHA students were outnumbered at least 4:1, so it was rather easy for the MSA to follow us around and make modifications to nearly all of our 50-100 drawings.

Curiously, many of the drawings featured the quotation "Do not get angry" - which I can only assume is a reference to the hadith in which Muhammad advises a man to, well, not get angry. Doesn't attributing a quote from the prophet Muhammad detract from the goal of transforming the stick figures so they are no longer representations of him? I think "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" would make more sense here.
(Incidentally, I do want to sincerely express my gratitude that members of both AHA and the MSA were able to remain calm and cordial throughout the entire chalking event)

So many Muhammad (Ali)'s was getting tiresome, so we introduced variations.

Some drawings evaded detection, including the pièce de résistance... An approximately 38 foot long version, which I'd like to think is among the biggest stick figures ever drawn, Muhammad or otherwise.

And then there was this one, NOT drawn by the MSA, but rather by an agnostic who was vehemently opposed to the event and categorically rejected all of our reasons for doing it.

The point he was trying to make was that drawings of Muhammad are deeply insulting to Muslims on a very personal level - on par with the deluge of offense I surely felt when seeing this message. He argued that I, like the MSA, can thus reasonably respond to these transgressions by erasing or otherwise censoring things which needlessly cause offense.

And that's where he is dead wrong.
Actually, I'm not insulted by speculations about what kind of animals my mother has intimate relations with. Really, I'm not. In fact, I'm not even insulted that the MSA chose to change our drawings. You won't see me crying foul to the Dean's office about this. And even if I was insulted by these or other things... too bad. Offense can go both ways, that's the beauty of the freedom of expression. If people learn anything from this event (other than that, man, a lot of people suddenly seem to like Muhammad Ali) I hope it's this:

We must all eventually come to the agreement that no religion, person, idea, or sacred cow should be granted immunity from criticism. In a free society, even opinions which the majority may find reprehensible have the right to be heard. Among these is the right to criticize religion and to perform actions considered “blasphemous.” When that right is under threat, as is clearly is today, we have a moral obligation to exercise it to ensure that it is not lost. We cannot tolerate limitations to our freedom of expression, whether they come from violence, intimidation, or self-censorship out of political correctness.

Finally, someone (presumably from the MSA, although I did not see it happen) chalked the following message from the Qur'an at the steps of the Union:
"To you your beliefs, and to me mine" (109:6)
Exactly. So stop demanding that we respect your beliefs about depicting Muhammad, as they do not apply to the rest of us.

A Meeting With the Associate Dean of Students

2010-05-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

At 3pm this afternoon, I met with Kevin Helmkamp: the Associate Dean of Students.

He seemed legitimately interested in hearing the AHA perspective, and the reasons why we we felt that the event was necessary. He agreed that it "was a good topic to grapple with," but brought up many of the same arguments we have already heard from others who oppose the event.

1) This is not the best way to start a dialogue.
2) It targets innocent Muslims instead of radical Islam.
3) Just because you can offend others doesn't mean you should.

I will concede the first point. With regards to #2, I would argue that both radical and moderate Muslims need to acknowledge that others have the fundamental right to criticize Islam - and even to draw cartoons of Muhammad if they so choose. As for #3, we shall see if I truly can...

When I asked about his opinion about the legality of our event, he stopped short of making a definitive statement about whether or not AHA will be found to be in violation of any code of conduct - as the issues involved are complex and a delicate balance between defending free speech and preventing "hate" speech. He assured me that the university's lawyers were working on it.

One particularly interesting thing he had to say was this:
"Our office tends to be the office where aggrieved groups want to come and expect us to spread our little dean dust and make it all right. "

If the MSA actually does support my freedom of expression, there is no need to resort to dean dust.

A response from the Muslim Student Association

2010-05-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Within hours of sending my letter to the MSA, I received this sternly worded response:

"Dear Chris Calvey,

I am the Vice President of the MSA and I will cut straight to the chase. Your apology is not accepted since your act is actually offensive. To slap someone in the face, despite warning the person in advance and assuring them of you good intentions does not make slapping someone in the face ok.

You said it yourself, it was an extremist group that announced the threat (assuming such threats were intentionally issued) and we as Muslims disapprove their act. Moreover, your method of protest and announced cause of protest do NOT match. Why do you not direct your protest to the groups in question instead of engaging in acts that you yourself acknowledge will offend the vast majority of Muslims, on this campus and off.

I would like to inform you that, as far as we understand, the event you are planning is illegal by the constitution of the University of Wisconsin (88-12 RACIST AND OTHER DISCRIMINATORY CONDUCT POLICY). Deviating from this law will offend not only the UW Muslim Students Association but the entire Muslim community on this campus and other organization of similar culture and faith. The Dean of Students shall be contacted immediately.

I politely suggest that you cancel this event and prefer instead that we meet and discuss the issue respectfully before resorting to what we feel to be rather drastic measures. No offense, but giving less than 24 hours notice seems to betray ill intentions.

I respect the fact you let us know about your plans beforehand but I also want to reiterate that we do not approve or agree with your highly offensive acts. I assure you that we believe in freedom of expression just as much as you purport to do.

Sincerely,
Ahmed Fikri – MSA Vice President "

Needless to say, I was disappointed by their response. I will admit, it is difficult for me to put myself in the shoes of a Muslim student on campus, and to truly understand how they will feel when seeing these images. It is distressing, to say the least, and part of me wants to cancel the event to avoid hurting my peer's feelings. However, it is much more distressing to me that the MSA has resorted to exactly the same tactics they are condemning: using fear and intimidation to suppress criticism of their religion. Regrettably, it's working - at least one AHA member has withdrawn his support from this event out of concern for his academic carrier. The MSA can not seriously pretend to support freedom of expression while threatening legal action action against us in the same breath.

The event will go on.

A letter to the Muslim Student Association

2010-05-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Given the obvious opportunities for this event to be misconstrued as an attack against Muslims on campus, the following letter was sent to the Muslim Student Association in an attempt to explain the reasoning behind the event:

"My name is Chris Calvey and I am the president of the Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics (AHA) @ UW Madison. I am writing to you in regards to an event we are planning called "Chalking for Freedom of Expression” on the evening of May 3rd.

As you may be aware, recent episodes of the satirical cartoon South Park which contained implied depictions of the Prophet Muhammad have been heavily self-censored by Comedy Central (and/or by its parent corporation, Viacom). The creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, also received thinly veiled death threats from the American extremist group, Revolution Islam. In response, as an act of solidarity, AHA plans to chalk sidewalks around campus, labeling stick figures as "Muhammad."

We are aware that depicting images of Muhammad is a controversial issue that is highly offensive to many Muslims around the world. We acknowledge that you may view this as an unproductive, misguided, or hurtful event. We are very sensitive to these facts, and want to ensure that this event is done in a way that does not lead to Muslims feeling uncomfortable on campus. That is why I want to explain our position and our intentions as clearly as possible before the event takes place.

These drawings are not intended to mock, intimidate, or harass anyone – rather, we aim to make the following statements:
1) We have the right to criticize religion and to perform actions considered blasphemous, even if many individuals find this offensive.
2) A free society cannot tolerate violence or threats of violence which seek to limit our freedom of expression.

Further, we fully understand that Revolution Islam is a radical, fringe organization that does not represent mainstream Islam in any way. It goes without saying that the overwhelming majority of Muslims, in the U.S. and across the world, do not view their tactics as acceptable.

Finally, one of the most important goals of AHA is to engage in constructive interfaith dialogue with other religious groups. Unfortunately the semester is almost over, but I sincerely hope we will be able to work together in the future to foster mutual understanding and respect between our two groups. Most of all, I hope that the members of the MSA understand that our actions are not targeted towards them personally, and that we are merely attempting to counter the suppression of free expression. I leave it up to you to distribute this message via any appropriate avenues at your discretion.

Chris Calvey
President:
Atheists, Humanists, & Agnostics"

AHA to Stand for Freedom of Expression

2010-05-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

After airing an episode of South Park which suggested that the prophet Muhammad was hidden beneath a bear costume, the creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone received thinly veiled death threats from the American extremist group, Revolution Islam. In response, Comedy Central (and/or its parent corporation, Viacom) heavily censored the following episode, including bleeping out any mention of the name "Muhammad," among other things. Previous episodes depicting uncensored images of Muhammad are no longer available online.

We believe that everyone has the right to express themselves freely without threats of violence, and that no one has the right not to be offended. We can not, in good conscience, do nothing about this situation.

In response, AHA is going to chalk around campus, labeling stick figures as "Muhammad." We will meet on Monday, May 3rd in front of Memorial Union at 7pm.

We will NOT be making purposefully offensive or insulting drawings - only very basic and plain stick figures. We do not aim to mock Islamic beliefs, create a negative environment, or deliberately upset Muslim students on this campus.