Eastern Michigan University has a relatively new addition to student life organizations: Atheist, Agnostic and Apostate Students at Eastern Michigan University.
Two of the founding members, media officer Jeff Crowlett and spokesperson Jaymin Cox, met in a psychology class and found out they shared similar non-theist beliefs. After doing research and finding out there was no organization for non-theist students, they decided to start AAAS, which became official in August.
“The hardest part was getting five members,” Crowlett said. “This is a personal and touchy subject.”
As of August, AAAS has 14 official members, but Crowlett said a lot more
people are showing interest.
“People are showing more interest than what we expected,” he said. “We are surprised that we have been as effective in letting people know we exist.”
The organization is dedicated to providing a fellowship and community to like-minded individuals who share common non-theist beliefs and providing education on those beliefs to the EMU community. Its website highlights the reasons for the organization’s existence and the benefits it offers on its Constitutions and bylaws page:
“[The purpose] is to educate our community at EMU about what it means to be an atheist, agnostic and apostate and to dispel common myths and misunderstandings [about such individuals].”
The page also describes what the organization provides: “[We] provide support, community and social opportunities for persons who identify as atheists, agnostics, apostates, secular humanists or other non-theistic belief systems.”
Junior Michael Wood said the organization has done that for him. Growing up as a Baptist and attending church on a regular basis, Wood said it wasn’t until he was older that he realized some of the beliefs seemed contradicting. He now identifies himself as an atheist.
“This is the first time I’ve been around like-minded people and I haven’t been persecuted for my beliefs,” he said.
Although the organization is for non-theist students, anyone is invited to attend the events. Cox said one of the main goals besides community is to educate others on non-theist beliefs.
“We have a new member who is a Christian,” he said. “We are not trying to convert anyone; we are here primarily for education.”
Crowlett and Cox would like for the organization to continue to grow after they graduate.
“We want a degree of autonomy once we’re gone,” Howlett said. “We want [AAAS] to survive without us.”
Cox said the community growth is successful:
“We are trying very hard to build a community, and so far we are succeeding.”
AAAS meets on Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m. at the Student Center in room 301. Detailed information is given on its website about meeting dates, upcoming events and meeting and event locations. Its website can be found by going to www.emu.collegiatelink.net/organization/AAAS