The Secular Student Alliance (SSA) at Idaho State University hosted speaker Jonathan Figdor, humanist chaplain at Stanford University, Saturday, May 4, at 7 p.m in the Little Wood River Room of the Pond Student Union Building.
The event aimed to raise money for Doctors Without Borders, an organization that provides medical care to those in need regardless of race, religion or politics, while generating interest in the non-religious community in Pocatello.
Figdor spoke about humanist ideas of a broad range. Some topics covered included the role humanism plays in society today, the effect that it has and how it can be positive.
He also touched on the idea of creating more of a humanist community to encourage people to participate in society the way that churches would traditionally encourage such as volunteering, charity work, social activities and support systems.
According to SSA President Chelsea Wegrzyniak, the club hoped to appeal to a broader range of people in Pocatello when bringing Figdor to speak.
“We wanted something that was more suited for the diverse audience we have in Pocatello. So as opposed to a hardline atheist speaker, we thought a humanist speaker would be more approachable for the demographic we have in Pocatello,” explained Wegrzyniak.
Figdor, who said he does events similar to this regularly, grew up in what he considered a somewhat similar environment to Pocatello.
“A big reason I wanted to come out here [is that] I grew up and lived in Montana and was one of few secular people in a religious community,” said Figdor. “I know people here have probably had a similar experience.”
Throughout Figdor’s speech, topics such as homosexuality and women’s reproductive rights were mentioned and the differences in a humanist approach versus a religious approach to those issues were explained. Environmental issues were also a topic of discussion.
The event, originally slated to occur Thursday, May 2, was postponed after Figdor’s flight out of San Jose was delayed due to mechanical problems the day of the original event.
“I’m disappointed that due to the rescheduling we didn’t have quite the attendance that I would have hoped for,” said Wegrzyniak, “but I’m optimistic about how we did have a number of groups contribute and I think bringing in a speaker like [Figdor] will help promote interest in our group in the future so we can bring more speakers in.”
The IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, ISU Sexuality and Gender Alliance, CoHo and Pocatello Pet Lodge in conjunction with SSA sponsored the event.
For individuals who would like to contribute to Doctors Without Borders, SSA will continue to accept contributions online at its Doctors Without Borders fundraising page, which can be found through the group’s Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/ssaisu. The group has raised over $200 in cash and online donations as of Sunday, May 5.
