With eye-catching flyers scattered around campus, the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) is bringing attention to the secular community at Texas A&M University- Kingsville (TAMUK).
SSA is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting atheist, humanist, and other non-theist students.
This organization focuses on empowering secular students to feel comfortable and confident in expressing their identity, building welcoming communities and promoting secular values and activism.
Beginning this semester, SSA has an official chapter at TAMUK. The group was started to have a place for secular students on campus to fellowship with others who share similar beliefs.
“I just feel like as atheist and secular students we’re not really represented on campus. There’s a lot of religious organizations, but nothing specifically for us. There’s people who are secular that want to help the community, we want to find a group that we can do that with without having to necessarily say that we’re Christian or Catholic,” SSA President Ariana Barboza said.
The club holds meetings at 7 p.m. every Monday in Eckhardt Hall in room 101.
At their meetings, SSA members have discussions about various topics where students with different beliefs can share their opinions in a judgement free zone.
Discussions can range from how to deal with the death of a loved one to the ethics of choosing not to take a child to the doctor for religious reasons.
The group also discusses philanthropy opportunities on campus and in Kingsville.
From finding a sense of belonging to learning about different beliefs, members of the group have various reasons for being a part of the organization.
“In South Texas, it’s not very common that you see people or meet people who are atheists or agonistic…just non-religious in general, so I just feel like this is a good way to make people feel welcome here. Also, the discussions that we have are really good, they’re really mind stimulating. I love hearing like why people believe in what they believe in or what ideas people are on a lot of things,” Lydia Brown, the secretary of SSA said.
For Kany Drame, the SSA treasurer, the place serves as a place for student to openly express beliefs.
“We don’t all have the same opinions. We didn’t all arrive at being an atheist for the same reasons. So, it’s just really interesting to share that and I feel like Secular Student Alliance is a platform for people to share their perspectives while being respected,” Drame said.
The group has also received welcoming reception from religious people with questions and other students who identify with the organization’s mission.
However, on campus the group has faced small backlash such as having flyers vandalized.
Hence why along with providing a safe space for students of different backgrounds to express their beliefs, the group also hopes to change people’s perspectives on atheism and other non-theists.
“I want to be able to change the perception of what an atheist [is], how we are. We’re just like normal people. We’re not devil worshippers, we’re not Satanists, we’re just normal people. We just don’t have a set religion, we’re just trying to be good for the sake of being good,” Barboza said.
Drame recalls an experience where she misunderstood the meaning of atheism. When she was 15, someone mentioned there was an atheist in her town and she believed this meant the person was a “devil worshipper.”
“I didn’t know that not believing in God had its own name. So, you know that’s an ignorance that to me is important for us to…work on in the community,” Drame said.
While the name of the group does make the group seem as if only non-theist students are invited, this is not true.
SSA has members who subscribe to various religious beliefs, such as Catholicism, Islam and agnosticism, and invites anyone who is interested in learning more about the organization and engaging in stimulating conversation to attend a meeting.
Students can also connect with SSA by joining their Facebook group called Secular Student Alliance at TAMUK.