Manitoban Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists

• Time: 4:45 - 5:42 p.m.
• Location: Degree’s
• In attendance: Trevor Bekolay, Brian Latour, Dave Wesst, Steve Coutts, Jen Robinson, Caelin White

1. Read minutes of last meeting.

2. Vote on amendment to Constitution, excluding office of Vice President and including offices of Public Relations Officer and Event Coordinator.

• Unanimous in favour

3. Office space

• Trevor spoke to UMSU and found out that:
  • Office space is allocated on a term by term basis.
  • We would need to write up a proposal, detailing why we require office space, and submit it by the first week of November.
• Pros and cons discussed:
  • Pro: Due to everyone’s erratic schedules, it would be good to have a communal area to store group materials.
  • Con: There is not much time to write the proposal.
• Motion to have proposal written by December in order to submit for next term.
  • Unanimous in favour

4. Bank account

• Dave presented his research on various banks and features of their accounts.
• After discussion, it is agreed that HSBC offers the best deal.
• Motion to open account at HSBC.
  • Unanimous in favour

5. Meeting schedule

• Discussion about best times/days to have meetings
  • Most people are not able to make it during the day due to classes.
  • Many people have Friday evening off.
  • We should at least meet once every two weeks.
• Motion to hold biweekly meetings on Friday at 4:30.
  • Unanimous in favour

6. Affiliation with Campus Freethought Alliance (CFA)

• Discussion:
  • If we affiliate with the CFA, we have access to resources such as speakers and promotional materials.
  • It is important that we make connections especially in our first year as a group.
• Motion to affiliate with CFA.
  • Unanimous in favour

7. Halloween Superstition Bash

• After discussion, it is agreed that it is not realistic to organize this event on such short notice.
• Motion to put in the “idea bank” for next year.
  • Unanimous in favour

8. New business

• Future speakers
  • Professors
  • Email shortlist to members and solicit for more.
• Identify possible faculty advisors
  • Rhonda Martens or Arthur Schafer?
  • Maybe others
• Fundraising ideas
  • Dave will bring for next meeting.
• Movie night
  • Need to decide on a date
    • Should be held in mid-November
  • Liquor license
    • Brian should find out who to talk to in UMSU/Administration about serving alcohol.
    • Might not be worth the trouble of getting license if only a few people show up.
  • Possible things to show will be put to a poll on forum.
• Logo design
  • Should be simple, look good in black and white, and include the acronym M.A.S.H.
  • Will discuss on forum where people can give input.
  • Caelin offered to come up with some different concepts and bring them to the next meeting.
• Statements of affirmation/condemnation
  • SSA suggests we write up statements to give people a better idea of what our group stands for.
  • Will discuss on forum.
• Secular Society conference on Nov. 9th
  • Should we send someone?
  • Discussed and determined to be unrealistic at this time but possible for next year.
• Next meeting of Humanist Association of Manitoba on Saturday, November 10th.

• Next general meeting on Friday, November 9th at 4:30 p.m.

Posted by steve under Minutes | Comments Off

• Time: 4:30 pm - 5:37 pm
• Location: Degree’s
• In attendance: Trevor Bekolay, Katie Higham, Brian Latour, Steve Coutts, Dave Wesst

1. General discussion

• Affiliations
  • Things we receive through UMSU affiliation
    • Should we apply for office space?
      • If possible, vote next meeting
  • Things we receive through SSA (Secular Student Alliance) affiliation

• Membership dues
  • All opposed

• Constitution amendment
  • change constitution to exclude office of Vice President and include offices of Public Relations Officer and Event Coordinator
    • vote next meeting

• Executive duties
  • Public Relations Officer (Brian)
    • Coordinate advertising and publicity for events
    • Maintain contact with the media
  • Event Coordinator (Katie)
    • Plan, organize, and coordinate events
    • Reserve event space
    • Thank presenters
  • Treasurer (Dave)
    • Open bank account
      • By next meeting, gather information and propose a bank at which to open an account
    • Keep track of donations and possible donators
    • Identify and pursue new sources of funding
  • Secretary (Steve)
    • Keep track of membership
      • Possibly set up webform for new members
    • Take attendance and vote counts at meetings
    • Take meeting minutes and post on website

2. Other orders of business

• Meeting schedule
  • Vote on possible times at next meeting

• Next event: Movie night?
  • Possible things to show: Dogma, Cosmos, South Park
  • Investigate possibility of offering alcohol

• Promotional materials: needed urgently
  • Business cards (free from SSA, need to design)
  • Pamphlets
  • Banners with logo
    • Will need graphic design help

3. New business

• Executive email addresses
  • Will be forwarded to existing email addresses

• Fundraisers/advertising
  • Best to hold any events before exam period
  • For the M/T/W of Halloween week, have an anti-superstition table set up in University Centre
  • Have ladders to walk under, umbrellas to open indoors, etc.
  • Possibly a mirror that we will break on Halloween (donators can write on)
  • We would need some promotional materials ready
    • A poster board with information about us and other things
    • Pamphlets that people can take with them
    • Information about next event
  • Will discuss in more detail at next meeting

• Next meeting: Friday, October 26th at 4:30 at Degree’s

Posted by steve under Minutes | Comments Off

On the 18th of October, seven people came out to a Humanism talk given by Barrie Webster, president of the Humanist Association of Manitoba (HAM).

Barrie’s talk was interesting and informative. He gave an overview of Humanism’s core principles, noting that those principles are, in a general sense, not that different than the principles held by most religions, as they are based on human morality. When you dig a bit deeper though, Humanism differs in ways such as having no associated mythology, not being based on fear, and supporting scientific inquiry. Barrie then went into the history of Humanism, noting that it goes back to the ancient Greek philosophers, and has played a part in the development of religious and philosophical discussions since then. He listed some well known Humanists, including Charles Darwin, Carl Sagan, and Isaac Asimov. Barrie ended the talk with the contributions Humanists have made in the past, and are currently involved in, both worldwide and in Manitoba specifically. Some of the current Canadian projects are implementing secular oaths instead of defaulting to the bible and offering compassionate care in hospitals, as currently public funds are going towards spiritual care.

Barrie provided us with a number of publications that provide more in-depth explanations of what Humanists stand for:

• Humanist Manifesto I and III [wikipedia]
• Amsterdam Declaration [wikipedia]
• Defining Modern Humanism by Pat Duffy Hutcheon

After the talk, Barrie answered questions from the audience. During the talk, Barrie discussed Humanism’s denial of cynicism; like John Locke, Humanists believe that humans are born naturally altruistic, and learn to be self motivated as they grow up. Members of the audience challenged this view, citing that caring about self-interest is good for survivability, and that some acts of altruism can still be self-motivated. Barrie held firm that altruism is human nature. Barrie went into more detail on some Humanist views, such as a refusal to capitalize words referring to supernatural beings, and the denial of an afterlife.

Regardless of their views, everyone left with a better knowledge of Humanism. We would like to thank Barrie Webster for coming and sharing with us his expertise, and answering our questions thoroughly. MASH looks forward to a long and prosperous relationship with HAM!

Posted by trevor under Minutes | Comments Off

Barrie Webster, President of the Humanist Association of Manitoba, will come and give a talk entitled “Humanism - a rich and enduring life stance,” then answer our questions about humanism. The talk will last approximately 30 minutes, leaving lots of time for discussion afterwards. Barrie is a retired professor in the Department of Soil Sciences at the U of M, and has been a member of HAM since the early 1990s.

Time: October 18th at 4:30PM
Location: EITC E2-304

After the talk, we will have a short meeting to update everyone on how the group has been growing over the past month. If necessary, we will hold elections–please get your nominations in as soon as possible!

Discuss this event on our forum.
Feel free to distribute this flyer to advertise the event where appropriate.

Posted by trevor under News | Comments Off

The decisions made during this, MASH’s formative year, will heavily influence how our organization grows. People interested in being part of our first executive must email in your nominations by October 13, 2007. Include in your email: your name, the position you are nominating yourself for, and (if desired) a short description of your campaign platform.

Details of each position are available on the Executives section of this website. On October 13th, the final list of nominees will be published and members will be informed by email. Elections will occur during a general meeting on October 18th.

The current nominations are detailed below. Once you have emailed your nomination to webmaster (at) ummash.org, you will receive a confirmation email, and the list below will be updated.

President

• Trevor Bekolay - I created the group, and it would please me greatly to continue building this group on the ideals of rationalism, scientific inquiry, and respect.

Vice President

• Brian Latour - I am very happy to see a group like this started and would like to help build the group by helping to organize fun and intellectually stimulating events and get togethers.
• Katie Higham - I have waited for a while for a group like this to come along. But, I’ve always been too pre-occupied to get one started. That said, this year I have ample time to help with the running of UM MASH.

  If I am elected, I will work hard to help this group prosper and grow. If the opportunity arises, I will defend our position against any student group that wishes to debate us. We can make this group work if we all try.

Treasurer

• David Wesst

Secretary

• Steven Coutts

Posted by trevor under News | Comments Off