I am a college student and I want to try to promote skepticism at my school here in Iowa (I go to Iowa State University). I have noticed that it seems like there isn’t much skeptical activity here in the Midwest. So I was wondering: What ideas do people have for what I could do?

My university has an atheist and agnostic society but we do not have a skeptical society.  I don’t know if I should try to get the atheist and agnostic society to do some skeptical activism or if I should try to start a skeptical group.

There is a small skeptical society in my area but they do not seem to want to be that big. It seems more like a get together for skeptics, and it isn’t associated with the University.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Zach

Hi Zach,

A good place to start would be by getting in touch with Debbie Goddard. You can PM her through the forum (username DebGod) or telephone her. FYI her info can be found in THIS recent thread.

All the best to you!

Hi Zach,

Sorry for the belated post.  I am a recent ISU Alum, less than an hour from Ames, and I would be more than willing to help in any way I can.  If you have the motivation to get a group together I am sure you can stand on the shoulders of the other CFI campus groups.  Iowa could definately use this kind of outreach.

Scott

Given the time lag here you may want to send a PM, or email through zntneo’s “Profile” button.

A few updates

I am starting a club, its preliminarily signed up (there a ton you have to do to become recognized as a group at ISU).  The name we choose was Cyclone Skeptical Inquirers.  We have a facebook group if you want to join scott, we also have a google group page too which has a proposed poster for the group up, if you want to go there and make any suggestions you have about the poster on that page. If you join the facebook group i will probably be , when we decide on it, post a thing to all the members of the group on the times we have decided to have a meeting.

It looks like we may even already have our first event being close to planned, we will probably be having DJ Grothe come to campus next feb.

retrospy - 29 October 2008 10:37 AM

Hi Zach,

Sorry for the belated post.  I am a recent ISU Alum, less than an hour from Ames, and I would be more than willing to help in any way I can.  If you have the motivation to get a group together I am sure you can stand on the shoulders of the other CFI campus groups.  Iowa could definately use this kind of outreach.

Scott

Thanks for the quick reply.  I’ll find you on Facebook and make some posts there, but I also found some information that others on this forum might find helpful.  So, I’ll add that here.

Hector Avalos is an awesome resource on the ISU campus.  When I was in school, he debated William Lane Craig on “The Resurrection of Jesus: Fact or Fiction?” to a packed house of more than 2,700 people - with some turned away at the door.  I found this newsletter (link below) that is loaded with details on this event and how the Atheist organization got funding from Christian organizations.  I was not involved in organizing this event, but I must admit that it was a significant and early turning point for me.

The funny thing is, the two people shown in the photo of the auditorium are my old roommates and that is my empty coat in the row in front of them.  If I wasn’t so skeptical and pragmatic I’d go “coo-coo for Spiritual Puffs”.  I guess this can be one of those “There really is a flying spaghetti monster moments”. 

http://www.secularstudents.org/files/Newsletter.WI05.pdf