University of Melbourne Secular Society (UMSS)

In the aftermath of Elevatorgate, many questions about the role of women in the freethinking movement have arisen. Why aren’t there more female atheists? Why aren’t they as prominent as the male celebrity atheists? Does the atheist movement favour males? Should atheists support the feminist movement? Come talk and hear about these issues at the last Secular Society event of the year, as we have discussions led by the students.

When: Wednesday October 26, 1-2pm

Where: Lowe Theatre, Redmond Barry Building

In celebration of the end of the semester, there will also be a variety of free food and drink.

RSVP on Facebook.

UMSS is pleased to announce that we are co-hosting the inaugural SkeptiCamp Melbourne! It will be held on campus in the Redmond Barry Building (ground floor) on Saturday, October 22 (end of week 11 of semester) from 9.30am – 5.30pm.

What is SkeptiCamp?

SkeptiCamps are informal, community-organised conferences borne of the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. Everyone from casual skeptics to the experienced participate, give talks and get to know each other.

Attendees can sign up to present a talk related to science, skepticism, or critical thinking.

This event is completely (a) free, (b) exciting, and (c) open to the public! However, you do need to register for your free ticket if you plan to attend.

See you there!

Not a UMSS event, but it may be relevant to your interests. Tomorrow night, Professor Tim Berra of Ohio State University will be speaking at Embiggen Books:

“Tim Berra is professor emeritus of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at the Ohio State University. An acknowledged Darwin expert, he is the author of over 75 scientific papers and six books, including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism and A Natural History of Australia. His latest book Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man forms the basis of this fascinating presentation, which deals with Darwin’s life, family, influences and significance to science and western thought.

An open invitation to see Professor Tim Berra of Ohio State University and biographer of Charles Darwin, speak at Embiggen Books on Thursday the 13th of October at 6.30pm. Places are limited to 50, so email or call quickly to reserve a seat.

RSVP to events at embiggenbooks dot com or call us on 03 9662 2062.”

Renowned theoretical physicist, Lawrence Krauss, will be answering your questions as part of the Secular Society’s regular lecture series. There is no limit on questions, just an open discussion with one of the best scientific communicators around.

Krauss is the director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, and a prominent author on subjects ranging from criticisms of string theory to the Physics of Star Trek. In addition to being a speaker at next year’s Global Atheist Convention, his latest book, A Universe from Nothing will be published early next year, and features a foreword by Christopher Hitchens and an afterword by Richard Dawkins.

When: Wednesday August 24, 1-2pm

Where: Lowe Theatre, Redmond Barry Building

If you cannot attend but have an interesting question you would like addressed, feel free to leave it in the comments of this entry, or you can post it in our Facebook event (or tweet us!)

“Religious faith discourages independent thought, it’s divisive, and it’s dangerous”, says Richard Dawkins. Following on from week three, we will be screening the second and final part of the Richard Dawkins documentary Root of All Evil?. In this episode, Dawkins examines childhood indoctrination and morality.

When: Wednesday August 17, 1-2pm

Where: Lowe Theatre, Redmond Barry Building

Also, free food will be provided! And as always, you can sign up for a membership to support the club and/or buy a t-shirt on the day.

“Religious faith discourages independent thought, it’s divisive, and it’s dangerous”, says Richard Dawkins. On Wednesday of week three, UMSS will be screening the first part of the Richard Dawkins documentary Root of All Evil?, in which he “examines how religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth”. The documentary includes interviews with a number of prominent members of various faiths, including Ted Haggard (!).

When: Wednesday August 10, 1-2pm

Where: Lowe Theatre, Redmond Barry Building

This event is free and open to the public. However, to support UMSS and help it grow, we ask that you consider signing up for a membership on the day ($1 for union members, $2 for non-members, $4 for non-students). We will also be selling UMSS t-shirts for $20 for members.

RSVP on Facebook.

Also, remember remember we’re co-hosting a trivia night on Thursday August 11. You should definitely be there.

On August 11, UMSS and RMIT Secular Society are holding a trivia night. Save the date now! Entry is completely free, and bookings are not required.

You’re welcome to come with a team, however as it is a social event, you’re absolutely welcome to come solo and form a team on the night (indeed, it is expected that some people will do this).

The event is being held upstairs at the Queensberry Hotel (593 Swanston St, corner of Queenberry street). Arrive any time after 6.30pm for dinner/drinks/socialising. At 7.40, Simon Taylor will be making an appearance and performing a stand-up comedy routine, before questions start at 8.00 (sharp, so make sure you have arrived by then).
There will also be a number of food and drink specials available on the night:

• $5 pints (Carlton)
• $10 jugs (Carlton)
• $8 Jagerbombs
• $5 basic spirits
• $5 house wine/champagne
• $10 burgers/parmas

There will, of course, be prizes for smartest secularists, mainly in the form of free alcohol.

If you need to renew your UMSS membership, you can do so on the night. New members are always welcome, too.

When: Thursday August 11, 7pm
Where: Queensberry Hotel (593 Swanston St)

RSVP on Facebook.

Welcome back for semester two, and hello to all the new members!

For the second week of semester, UMSS is happy to welcome back Fiona Patten, who will be giving a talk about religion, politics, and lobby groups. Fiona Patten is the Convenor of the Australian Sex Party, a civil liberties party that was formed in 2009. The Sex Party has referred to itself as “the major minor party in Australian politics”, having performed very well in their first federal and state elections.

When: 1pm, Wednesday August 3

Where: Lowe Theatre, Redmond Barry Building

This event is free and open to the public. However, to support UMSS and help it grow, we ask that you consider signing up for a membership on the day ($1 for union members, $2 for non-members, $4 for non-students). We will also be selling UMSS t-shirts for $20 for members.

This event is brought to you by the Freethought University Alliance. Additionally, Fiona Patten will also be giving talks at other Victorian universities during the same week.

RSVP on Facebook.

The Atheist Foundation of Australia have began a nation wide campaign to encourage people who are no longer religious to mark no religion on the 2011 Census. Jason Ball, a spokesperson for the Foundation and past President of UMSS, will chat about why this is so important and update us on the progress of the campaign. It will also be an opportunity to ask any questions you might have about the Census, and a chance to contribute ideas towards the campaign.

Event details:
Date: Thursday, 7^th April 2011
Time: 1 PM
Venue: Harold White Lecture Theatre, Arts Centre

If you haven’t renewed your UMSS membership yet then don’t fret, you can get your new shiny membership card by signing up at any event during the year. Renewing membership means you’re helping the society grow and gain access to bigger grants, which means more events, guests, free food and merch! Membership is only $1 for Union members and $2 for non-union!

Our awesome new shirts will be available again as well. there are two quotes to choose from, one from Huxley and one from Sagan. They are only $20 for members!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE: For those who attended the event and want some links to more information (or those who missed out and would like to know what’s going on), a bunch of links have been collated here.

For week 5, the University of Melbourne Secular Society is delighted to announce that former Senator and former leader of the Australian Democrats, Lyn Allison, will be joining us again for an update and discussion on the National School Chaplaincy Program. A year on from Lyn’s last visit, come along to find out what has happened with the program in the last year and what problems it still poses for our secular public education system.

Event details:
Date: Thursday, 31^st March 2011
Time: 1 PM
Venue: Harold White Lecture Theatre, Arts Centre

If you haven’t renewed your UMSS membership yet then don’t fret, you can get your new shiny membership card by signing up at any event during the year. Renewing membership means you’re helping the society grow and gain access to bigger grants, which means more events, guests, free food and merch! Membership is only $1 for Union members and $2 for non-union!

We also have new T-shirts for sale at events, $20 each for members, with two new quotes from Huxley and Sagan (you can see the designs on umss.org). I’ve had random people at uni come up and tell me how awesome they are, so added bonus if you like talking to strangers/meeting new people. If you can’t make the event just shoot a message through to umss@umss.org and we’ll sort something out.

Hope to see you all at the event!