Hi, I may have already spoken to you or another member of your organization, but in case I haven’t, here is something that should interest you. The bottom line is that there are an overwhelming number of college-age atheists, agnostics, non-religious, humanists, skeptics, etc. who want to get together at an event which will be called AtheFest in the city of Chicago in July of 2008. These students who have expressed interest in the project come from all over the nation and even the UK (many of them are already members of different organizations from various schools around the nation and many more are only recently becoming aware of the CFI, SSA, etc. and are beginning to start their own student organizations at their respective schools). The project is only now beginning to come down from the realm of they hypothetical and being planned, so there is plenty of time to get on the ground floor of the planning process. We are currently in the phase of contacting different organizations such as the Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard, the Secular Student Alliance, and other secular, humanist, and free thought organizations, so I felt that this would be the perfect time to invite your group to get in on the ground floor of planning. We expect there to be several hundred students at least attending AtheFest and so we can use all the help we can get. The vision of AtheFest is to give atheist, agnostic, nonreligious, and freethinking college students in general to have an opportunity to network and get to know others who are on the same page as they are. It also offers those of us who are only acquaintances through online forums and blogs or in other medias of debate and discussion an opportunity to put a face to our names and to build a much stronger and personal community, especially in those of us who are at the college level. The event will last for a full weekend (most likely Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday afternoon), but an exact date has not yet been set in stone yet, as we are still accepting ideas from these various organizations, as well as from those who will be attending the event. There has been a great deal of planning already though, and here are some of the ideas which have been thrown around so far: - Bands, Live Music, and other forms of live entertainment - Speakers - Student Presentations - Student and Professor Discussion Panels - Booths for organizations to promote themselves - Workshops - Museum Visits - A dance or other major social event for people to get to know each other better and network - Open Mic for poetry, songs, etc. - Catered Dinner Discussions - Outdoor Barbeque - And more The event will also be promoted at the recently created SecularCovenant.com, on Facebook, and on MySpace, among other places. If you or your would like to help, or if you would simply like to voice your opinion or ask questions regarding the project, contract me at SGLawler@gmail.com Thank you in advance for your help and input, - Sean Goff (SGLawler) SGLawler@gmail.com