Posted 9/2/10 at 2:17 PM by Sam

The Humanist Society of Santa Barbara is hosting one of their annual "Ingersoll Lectures" in October and they're looking for people to apply to deliver part of the lecture! The plan is for one student and one non-student to give half of this year's lecture, selected from Ingersoll's collected public lectures, in the spirit of Robert Ingersoll's intellectual legacy.

There are auditions to read the lecture in September, and the Santa Barbara Humanists are giving a $300 prize to the winner of the auditions!

If you would like to participate in this year's lecture reading, auditions are on September 25, with applications due September 18 - go to the Santa Barbara Humanists' Ingersoll Lecture information page to learn more about the event, and to find out how to apply.

Posted 5/5/10 at 8:25 PM by Sam

SURE Presents Dan Barker: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off. How an evangelical preacher became an atheist, and why there should be no National Day of Prayer.

Thursday, May 13, 7:30pm (Doors open at 7pm)
UCSB Life Sciences Building, room 1001
FREE attendance - seats are not assigned.

Click here for a map to the Life Sciences Building at UCSB.

More info:

Dan Barker devoted 19 years to ministry. He became a teenage evangelist at 15, received a degree in Religion from Azuza Pacific University, and in 1975 became an ordained minister. He was strong in his faith, traveling across the country with his musical ministry, and serving various churches as a preacher and guest pastor.

After five years of drawn-out study and reading, however, Dan gradually outgrew his religious beliefs. "If I had limited myself to Christian authors, I’d still be a Christian today," Dan says. "I just lost faith in faith." He announced his atheism publicly in January, 1984.

Today, Dan is the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national organization that enjoys an active membership and pursues high-profile legal challenges to government sanctioned violations of church-state separation, including a recent victory against the National Day of Prayer.

Come hear Dan's story, and learn about the National Day of Prayer issue.

Posted 3/31/10 at 11:54 PM by Sam

Hi everyone, welcome to Spring 2010! We already have some awesome stuff planned for this quarter, including something as soon as April 9th! (San Diego creationist museum trip). But let's start with the basics: our FIRST MEETING obviously wasn't today, unfortunately. The Office of Student Life hasn't gotten back to us with where we're assigned to be meeting, so we've moved the first meeting to next week. No big deal. Stay tuned on Facebook and here for more information.

At the first meeting, we'll be talking about some of the awesome, amazing stuff we already have lined up for the quarter, including the creation museum trip, and hosting Dan Barker to speak again! Something you may also be interested in, but which sadly isn't being hosted by SURE, is that Bill Nye the Science Guy is coming to UCSB in May! Get your tickets from UCSB Arts and Lectures!

Once again, come to the first meeting to get lots of information and to hang with awesome guys and gals - next Wednesday, April 7 at 6:30pm in a soon-to-be-known location.

Posted 2/9/10 at 1:33 PM by Sam

The SURE meeting for this week will feature a celebration of Darwin Day! Darwin Day is on Friday, Feb. 12, but we figured we'd celebrate early at our regular Wednesday meeting.

From the International Darwin Day Foundation:

Darwin Day is an international celebration of science and humanity held on or around February 12, the day that Charles Darwin was born on in 1809. Specifically, it celebrates the discoveries and life of Charles Darwin -- the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection with scientific rigor. More generally, Darwin Day expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity.

We'll be having pizza and some other snacks - if you'd like some food please bring a few dollars to cover costs.

We'll see you there, and happy Darwin Day!

Posted 1/14/10 at 11:16 PM by Sam

SURE is having a speaker event this Wednesday, Jan. 20*:

Biology professor, evolutionary scientist, and blogger PZ Myers will be coming to UCSB to give a talk on creationism and complexity. We secured our spot on PZ's California tour through the Secular Student Alliance, and we're the first university he will be visiting!

PZ Myers authors the blog Pharyngula and is a biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, with a focus in evolutionary developmental biology and neurobiology. He is an outspoken critic of Intelligent Design and Creationism, and is feared by intelligent design proponents for his sharp wit and informed criticism.

*We won't be having our normal meeting this week, which usually happens on Wednesdays at 6:30 in Bldg. 387, Rm. 101 (Winter '10).

When: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 7pm-9pm, doors open at 6:30pm

Where: Embarcadero Hall, 935 Embarcadero del Norte, Isla Vista, CA,93117 (Google Map)

Price: Free!

Posted 1/4/10 at 11:58 AM by Sam

SURE is back in business for Winter quarter - we hope everyone had a nice solstice, and a happy New Year!

We're having a short meeting from 6:30-7 before going to Giovanni's for our pizza night on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we were assigned a different meeting place this quarter: Building 387, Room 101, which is next to the parking lot south of the Davidson Library. Go to our Meeting Info page for a map.

Also coming up this month, on Jan. 20, is a visit from PZ Myers, a well known blogger and biology professor who authors the blog Pharyngula. Other than that, welcome back! We're looking forward to a great quarter.

Posted 12/4/09 at 11:25 PM by Sam

That's right! We're done meeting for the fall. Our next meeting will be after winter break! We hope everyone has a fantastic few weeks of vacation!

We'll update everybody about meetings for next quarter. As far as we know, they'll be at the same time in the same room every week.

See you next quarter!