One of the stories I share in The Young Atheist’s Survival Guide is about Brian Lisco and his quest to start a Secular Student Alliance group at Stephen Austin High School in Sugar Land, Texas. Here’s the quick version as seen in USA Today:
Brian Lisco, 18, a senior [at] Stephen Austin High School in the Houston suburbs, found his efforts to form a club were delayed for three months by one hurdle after another. At one point the principal said he could have the club — if he just called it a Philosophy Club and did not affiliate with the Secular Student Alliance.
Lisco, however, wouldn’t give up the Alliance ties. He says,
We atheists are already invisible — we don’t come out. That’s a form of repression in itself. It’s about getting pushed to the margin of our community.
After a request for comment from USA TODAY, the school abruptly granted Lisco the Secular Student Alliance Club on Tuesday…
Last summer, three other students who were also involved in the group’s creation — Kaylin Martin, Courtney Russell, and [removed at student’s request] — told the Humanists of Houston their version of the story.
They begin speaking around the 14:00 mark (and the audio gets much better at that time, too):
[Removed]
If nothing else, watch the portions from 21:30 – 23:00 and 26:50 – 29:45.
It’s not easy being an atheist in high school, even when you’re as motivated and organized as this group, when you have administrators trying to thwart you at every turn.
If any other parts stand out to you, please leave the timestamps and summaries in the comments!
(Thanks to Vic for the link!)
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