Hey everyone! Just a quick update. We finally got our letter sent out to Pope. We ended up sending him a letter encouraging condom use as a way to prevent AIDS. We also put a few condoms in the package to let him try them out and see how they work for him. Here are the pictures:
Secondly, we went down and donated the $73.66 we made from the bake sale to fight AIDS worldwide. Thanks for everyone who made the bake sale a great success!
Last week we had a series of events involving the pope, HIV/AIDS, and baked goods. You all know what that means! During week 3 at our Atheist bake sale we raised over $70 for the UNAIDS programme. We will be heading down to CHASE (formerly WAMU).
Here are some pictures of all the fun:
Good Times: Discussing religion with other students: Jar of souls and baked goods: God’s shows his wrath:
Secondly, during week 4 we had William Lobdell come and give a wonderful presentation on how he gradually lost his religion covering the LA Catholic sex scandal. Here are some clips from his book tour:
Lastly, we will NOT be a general meeting next week. This is because UCI is hosting the mythbusters and we are planning to be in attendance.
Next week we will be fortunate enough to host William Lobdell (Website) here at UCI. He is a former LA Times writer and UCI graduate. William Lobdell wrote the book titled “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America — and Found Unexpected Peace.” He will be speaking in Donald Bren Hall on April 21st from 7:00pm-10:00pm
Secondly, tomorrow we will be having our AAR Atheist bake sale. However, unlike previous bakesales this time we actually have a mission! As usual you will be able to trade your soul for a delicious baked good. However if that idea seems unappealing to you the standard fee of 50 cents for a baked good also applies. This time we will be donating all proceeds from the bake sale to the UNAIDS programme to fight AIDS worldwide. See the previous posts for more details on this organization.
It is week two! First and foremost we have a new room. This week we will be meeting in Social Science Tower 120 at the usual time. So do NOT go to HICB like last week or you will end up having a meeting all by your lonesome.
This weekend we will be having a BBQ at Stanford park on April 11th starting at 1:00PM. Everyone is invited and more then welcome. The BBQ will be potluck style so if everyone attending could bring something that would be great. Also as this is an official AAR event please no alcohol.
Lastly, next Wednesday is our famous and always controversial Atheist bake sale where you can sell your soul for a baked good. However, all proceeds will go towards the UNAIDS programme (see previous post). Secondly, you will be able to sign our letter that we are sending to the pope regarding the HIV/AIDS issue in Africa.
Hope to see you all later!
Map to the BBQ:
Map :
The blue polygon is the area where you should park and it will be taking place in Stanford Park.
You can either click here to find directions on google maps or just click on the image above to see a higher resolution version of the map.
The pope is quoted as saying “[HIV/AIDS is] a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem”
There has been a worldwide response to this. Bert Koenders the Dutch development minister has said “The Pope is making matters worse” and I agree.
The United Nations has a program devoted to fighting AIDS called The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (http://www.unaids.org/en/default.asp).
They make their position clear (http://www.unaids.org/en/default.asp) that the male condom is “the single, most efficient, available technology to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.”
I am planning on donating 10 dollars to their program. This is because as a human being I feel responsible for my fellow people and we should as a group try to provide proper education and resources to those in need.
I just wanted to thank all the AAR members for making this a memorable quarter. So now that it is week 10 and spring break is just right around the corner I wanted to do a quick recap of the quarter.
Week 2: Angry guy with a big sign
Lori Lipman Brown:
Dan Barker:
Week 8: Angry guys with small signs
Last but not least. February had both Charles Darwin’s birthday and Valentines day… so this one is for you.
Constitutional Law professor Donna Schuele will be joining us for a special meeting of AAR. We will be discussing the Michael Newdow “under god” case. In this case he argued that having “under god” in the pledge of allegiance was unconstitutional and asked for it to be removed. Professor Schuele was actually at the particular case and will be giving us a presentation on the case. We hope to see you all in attendance.
The lecture will be held on Thursday, Frebruary 26th from 7:00pm – 9:00pm at Humanities Hall room 262 at UC Irvine.
