According to Anthony Farris, the president of Shepherd’s Secular Student Alliance (SSA), the organization is continuing to grow on campus despite a semester fraught with class cancellations and poor weather.
Although the organization’s plans for a Darwin Day discussion were axed due to a snowstorm, Farris said the group has been working with several area and state level groups with a similar aim. “It’s been good for our members” to meet these like-minded people, Farris said.
The SSA is interested in hosting panels and discussion groups relating to philosophy and theology over the course of the semester. Farris said the reaction from the faculty to the group’s activities has been “very receptive.”
The organization seeks to provide a place where non-religious people can find a group of like-minded individuals with whom to meet on a regular basis. Additionally, the SSA works to assist the community through the work of its members. Farris also indicated that the Shepherd chapter is a great way to gain leadership experience.
The active members of the SSA on campus come from many disciplines and Farris stressed the importance of having this variety of viewpoints.
Erin Piasecki, a 2013 graduate of Shepherd and current AmeriCorps volunteer, assisted with getting the group off the ground at Shepherd. She met the first organizer in 2011, Aaron Rock, a graduate student, and after his departure she became president.
Piasecki calls the organization “a club for the un-joiners.” She points to a fear some community service volunteers have, “the risk [of] alienating the people or organization you want to be a part of.” Piasecki fears that many community service groups are organized by faith-based institutions and that those who wish to live a secular or agnostic lifestyle may feel out of place. SSA seeks to remedy that problem.
According to the SSA’s website, the group was formed in 2000 when eight students came together. Their current advisory board includes well-known figures such as Richard Dawkins.
Chris Lovelace, assistant professor of psychology, is the organization’s faculty sponsor. For more information about the group or for updated meeting times, contact Lovelace (clovelac@shepherd.edu) or Farris (afarri02@rams.shepherd.edu)
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