| Amherst, NY – Over ninety student group leaders from across North America converged at CFI Transnational July 17 - 20 for the fourth annual "Convocation of Centers and Communities for Inquiry," which also featured concurrent sessions on campus freethought activism. It was a busy weekend packed with workshops, presentations, lectures, and social and networking opportunities. 
Paul Kurtz with the attendees of the CFI Leadership Conference 2008
More than 55 institutions were represented at the conference, including students and faculty from the following schools:
Aquinas College * Bates College * Bentley College * Broward College * Cal State Northridge * Camosun College * Carleton University * Carnegie Mellon University * Case Western Reserve University * Cherry Creek High School * College of William and Mary * Dalhousie University * Edison College * Edmonds-Woodway High School * Furman University * Grand Valley State University * Indiana University Bloomington * IUPUI * McMaster University * Michigan State University * Minnesota State University Moorhead * Mount Royal College * The New School * North Lake College * North Seattle Community College * North Union High School * Oklahoma State University * Portland State University * Rochester Institute of Technology * Rollins College * Roosevelt University * Ryerson University * Stanford University * SUNY at Buffalo * SUNY Brockport * Temple University * Texas Wesleyan University * University of Alberta * University of British Columbia * University of Calgary * UC Berkeley * UC Irvine * UCLA * UCSB * Université de Montréal * University of Central Florida * University of Cincinnati College of Medicine * University of Delaware * University of Florida * University of Guelph * University of Idaho * University of Illinois at Chicago * University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign * University of Northern Iowa * University of Ontario Institute of Technology * University of Ottawa * UT Austin * UT Dallas * University of Toronto * University of Victoria * University of Washington * University of Waterloo * University of Western Ontario * Utah State University * Wilfrid Laurier University * York University * and others The event was one of the most well-attended CFI conferences in recent years dedicated to training grassroots freethought leaders. The Center for Inquiry invested tens of thousands of dollars in the event to keep the student registration fee low and to ensure that group leaders would be able to attend from all across North America. CFI would like to give a special thanks to the many donors and supporters who made it possible to bring these students to the conference. To help support CFI's campus outreach program, please click here. Attendees left the conference enthusiastic and excited to continue the forward momentum, with many volunteering to work directly with CFI to advance reason and freedom of inquiry at the national and international level. Read on for summaries from four of the students.
 Rodrigo Neely-Recuero
Atheists, Humanists, and Skeptics
University of Texas at Dallas
The CFI Student Leadership Conference brought together almost a hundred campus activists and leaders committed to promoting freethought. The experience of being around so many like-minded individuals was refreshing and encouraging, to say the least. A great many bonds were formed, we were trained in workshops on how to be more effective, and we got to see a great many delightful lectures from intellectual giants like Paul Kurtz, Robert M. Price, Austin Dacey, and Joe Nickell. As nice as all that was, I came away with more than just self-congratulatory affirmations. On the first day of the conference the issue of semantics came up, atheist vs. freethinker vs. agnostic vs. whatever. The use of semantics is important and difficult for our groups, with varying consequences for different words. Most of these words are vague at best. But from this conference I came away with the importance of using two terms, and perhaps even replacing many of these terms with these. The two terms are "secular humanist"—referring to the positive nonreligious ethics of Paul Kurtz and other philosophers—and the other is "naturalist"—which refers to the use of science and nature as a foundation for knowledge. I realized that these terms carry clear and positive meanings, which are clearly spelled out and actually represent a worldview as opposed to the lack of one. The result is that I have finally become confident that the term Secular Humanist describes what I am, and Naturalism defines how I interpret the world I live in. 
D.J. Grothe
There was also a controversial talk given by D.J. Grothe about our cultural competitors, such as the Campus Crusade for Christ and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (which gave us Dinesh D'Souza and Ann Coulter). D.J. essentially made the case that though we are freethinkers, and we are hesitant to be too homogenous, perhaps the time has come for us to be more organized, more disciplined, and more focused about promoting and securing the process of free inquiry in society. This message from D.J. Grothe was what resonated most deeply for me, and I am optimistic that I am not alone among the many campus leaders and activists that attended the conference. I daresay wait and see what this perspective will yield in the months to come, or better yet instead of waiting and seeing, get involved! Rodrigo Neely-Recuero is a neuroscience major at the University of Texas at Dallas and the host of the pro-science podcast Mindcore. He believes that promoting free inquiry is necessary for our world to have a productive democratic political process, and he really likes comic books.
Yunyun Liu
Students for a Nonreligious Ethos (SANE)
University of California - Berkeley The first few months after I started my group were rough. Although I didn't face any administrative obstacles, as some fledgling groups on less hospitable campuses have, I did face an overwhelming amount of apathy and was encumbered by my own inexperience. I fumbled through meetings consisting of two or three students, doing my very best to mediate and encourage discussion. Each week I trekked through campus posting fliers, and I stutteringly attempted to explain to others just why non-religious students really should care about organizing. I felt like I was slogging alone through a sea of indifference. The difficulties I faced those first few months aren't uncommon. There are a lot of students who are new to the freethought movement and have little leadership experience, but want to participate nonetheless. There are also group leaders discouraged by the indifference of fellow secular students or the hostility of religious students. CFI's Student Leadership Conference is valuable to them because it synthesizes much that they would have had to learn through trial and error into a weekend of training sessions and lectures and almost more importantly, allows them entry into a network of students activists like themselves with whom they can commune and collaborate. This year group-running workshops began with sessions on public relations and fundraising, given by CFI Ontario Executive Director Justin Trottier and field organizer Debbie Goddard. Canadian and American students later separated for sessions dealing with political issues specific to their countries. In the American session, students broke into smaller groups to discuss topics including combating student apathy and countering creationism. Saturday included segments on branding and marketing, media relations, and digital outreach and culminated in a performance by magician Max Maven, who astounded everyone with his mind-reading tricks and by putting the vice-president of my campus group into a joint lock. The conference concluded Sunday with Austin Dacey speaking on his book The Secular Conscience followed by closing remarks from D.J. Grothe.  
Max Maven wows Roy Natian, Dave Fletcher; Yunyun with York U. students Ianina Altshuler, Shadi Afshar
It is my personal belief that the conversations with other students that occurred between sessions were as valuable as the sessions themselves. Building a community for secular students is one of my group's main priorities and is one of the important things that CFI's Student Leadership Conference accomplishes this year and every year. It is greatly inspiring to know that there are amazing people all over the country who share the same struggles, the same difficulties, and most importantly the same goals—students all doing their part in the same "good fight." On Sunday afternoon we all saw each other leave feeling that our time together was much too short but at the same time motivated to put our newly gained knowledge and determination into practice. Yunyun Liu, president of Students for a Nonreligious Ethos (SANE) at UC Berkeley, is currently interning at the Center for Inquiry Transnational.
 Michael Garrett Amini
Secular Student Union
University of Washington
"It's so odd to see him in person...I'm just used to hearing his voice on my iPod." "I know it! I keep waiting to hear him talk about how much he loves Audible.com," I replied to fellow student Eric Magro, who was enjoying D.J. Grothe's presentation every bit as much as I was. Where I come from, religion is quaint, and beliefs are kept personal, if they are held at all. Seattle is one of the most atheistic cities in the States (and one of the most well-read cities as well, oddly enough), and the coalition of the militant faithful may as well be fighting on foreign ground. I tune in to various podcasts and newsfeeds, mapping the wins and losses of the 21st Century culture war, and eagerly listen to the news from the far-off lands of Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, and New York. Sitting amidst my heroes on the other edge of the country, I couldn't help but surge with excitement. A thought bounced through my mind as I shook hands with Paul Kurtz...some quote about the shoulders of giants. Every new introduction was as astounding as the last as I made my way through the faces, young, old, and in denial. I could feel the passion behind every handshake. I could see compassion behind every smile. Here, I thought to myself, is one of the greatest collections of minds I have ever seen. These are the people that would die fighting for the rights of humanity.  
Paul Kurtz leads a toast to the Convocation; Michael workshops with other student group leaders
It was an honor to be a part of the conference. I was inspired and humbled by the stories I heard from my new friends, and as we discussed various ideas to further our campus groups, I began to see the true strength of the Center for Inquiry. As romantic as the notion is, a lone voice of reason just isn't enough anymore. Geographic distance means less and less as we become increasingly networked, facebooked, myspaced, twittered, text messaged, wiki-ed, and iPhoned. The fate of what was once a fortress of freethought solitude in the West is now intrinsically tied to the fate of the entrenched South, the embattled East, and even that of our friends above the 49th Parallel. CFI International is needed more today than at any other time in its existence. As I sat down on the airplane for the long flight home, the pastor seated next to me introduced himself politely. Noticing my T-shirt, he asked, "CFI? What's that?" The kind pastor ended up giving me a ride home from the airport. Michael Garrett Amini is currently enrolled full time at the University of Washington, where he is the president of the Secular Student Union. He is 21 years old, and currently in minor pentatonic with a blue note.
 Ian Bushfield
University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics
This year's CFI Leadership Conference was phenomenal. Over the span of four inquiry-packed days I heard many inspirational lectures, toured the CFI Transnational headquarters, networked with freethought leaders from across the continent and made many new friends. The first day of the conference consisted of the tour, introductions, a couple of short talks, and the unofficial kickoff in the dorms. Contrary to my expectations, CFI Headquarters was quite impressive. Featuring several successive expansions to an older farmhouse in Amherst the Center is now a world-class facility of its kind. The highlight of the complex is, in my opinion, the library, which features more material on skepticism, freethought, and humanism than any other facility in the world. Of particular interest is the collection of rare books which has many resources from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The second day featured talks by the naturalistic philosopher John Shook, Justin Trottier, Robert Price and Paul Kurtz. These talks were very enlightening, to say the least. Dr. Price provided some good humor in his articulate talk. Among his best quotes was, "The first humanist I ever knew was Captain Picard." On Saturday, we heard talks from Joe Nickell and Matthew LaClair. Nickell is potentially the foremost investigator of paranormal claims in the world; he presented his view of scientific humanism, or treating claims skeptically, while respecting people. LaClair is a freethought hero who stood up to a popular high school history teacher who used his classroom to preach Christianity. LaClair taped his teacher's lectures and presented them to his principal. When neither his teacher nor principal listened he reluctantly took the story public. Even after his entire town turned against him he continued the fight and eventually won the battle in court. Now he is fighting to get a warning out about a biased civics textbook which features gross inaccuracies.  
Joe Nickell with slide of Nazca lines; Matthew LaClair talks about standing up in high school
Saturday night went until 7:00 am for some people, as many decided to hang out and mingle in the dorms. It was a lot of fun and was great to see everyone out. 
Austin Dacey
The last day was a day of dreary eyes and nearly asleep stumbling. However, we did get an update on CFI's lobbying work in Washington, D.C., as well as a brilliant talk by Austin Dacey, CFI's representative to the United Nations and author of The Secular Conscience. After his talk I was very happy that I had bought a copy of his book there and had him sign it. All in all the conference was incredibly inspiring. After a year of running my group an experience like this provides all of the tools necessary to reinvigorate me in the freethought movement. Ian Bushfield is president of the University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics in Edmonton, Canada. He is in his fifth year of engineering physics and maintains the blog Terahertz at http://terahertz.wordpress.com.
Newsletter conference photos provided by Roy Natian, Derek Rodgers, Scott Rowed, and Gary Wiepert.
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