Zombies live forever…and so will you!

“Zombies live forever…and so will you!” That’s the slogan I saw on the chalkboard in one of my classes today, followed by a date, time, and location. Hmm, vague yet intriguing slogan, with no identifying information? I turned to my friend Ben.

“I totally bet that’s a religious group.”

And after five seconds of Googling, I found out I was right. Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at Purdue is putting on the event. I have to give them props for their marketing. Humans versus Zombies (effectively a giant, nerdy, insane game of tag involving nerf guns) just got done at Purdue. It was incredibly popular, and they’re working off of our zombie fascination. And the whole dishonest lack of information about what the event is really about – ah, ingenious and typical religious marketing (and not to mention, against Purdue student organization rules).

But I have to say, I’m pretty excited. I never knew that Christianity preached that we all turn into zombies when we die! Well, other than Zombie Jesus, of course. On the other hand, zombies aren’t really alive, so maybe they’re a tad bit confused…

Seattle, here I come!

While I alluded to it in a previous post, I still wasn’t 100% sure. But now it’s official – I’ll be going to the University of Washington to get my PhD in the Department of Genome Sciences in the fall!

That still sounds crazy when I say it. I’m going to go get a freaking PhD. Who knew that would happen ten years ago, when I was still amazed by the simple puzzle of a Punnett square, or when I still didn’t quite grasp the whole evolution thing. I’ve come a long way.

So come September, I will have officially escaped the Midwest. Wooooo! Though I admit, I’m nervous. I’ve lived in Indiana for the past 21 years (lived 5 minutes across the border in Illinois when I was an infant), and I’ve never lived in a big city. Purdue is only an hour and a half from my home town, so I was still close to family and retained some of my old high school friends. It’s kind of terrifying knowing I’ll finally be completely on my own. It’s like I’m an adult or something!

If you have any tips about grad school in general, the University of Washington, or Seattle, now’s a good time to let me in on all of the secrets. Or you can just use this post to celebrate along with me. Hurray!

Sex, Catholicism, and Snarky Atheists

The Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers of University of Illinois has come up with a brilliant event for Good Friday:

CHAMPAIGN – For many Christians, the Friday preceding Easter Sunday is one of the holiest days of the year.

This is precisely why the student organization Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers (AAF) has chosen this day to raise awareness about the Roman Catholic Church. The group plans to set up a booth on the Quad on Good Friday and disseminate information about the Church’s policies, especially those related to contraception and HIV/AIDS. Accordingly, the group will also be distributing free condoms.

“People often regard religion, and specifically Christianity as a force for good in the world,” said Mathew Rayman, an officer from AAF. “Just over a year ago, the Pope told Africans that condoms actually help to propagate AIDS rather than prevent it. Statements like these are irresponsible and illustrate the disconnect of the Vatican hierarchy from reality.” Two thirds of the estimated 33 million people with HIV/AIDS live in Africa.

The Catholic Church has always been fundamentally opposed to contraception, and Pope Paul VI reinforced this in the 1968 doctrinal letter Humanae Vitae (Latin, “Human Life”). According to the American Red Cross, consistent and correct condom use greatly reduces the risk of contracting HIV. AAF hopes to raise public awareness of these issues and promote productive discussion.

This is an awesome idea. My only complaint is that they didn’t advertise sooner, so groups like mine could have similar events. I think this is a perfect example of a good controversial event: it’s sure to piss some people off, receive media coverage, and get people talking – but it also has a purpose and a very important message. It doesn’t exist for the sole reason of offending.

Great idea, AAF – hope it goes well!

(Via Skeptic Money)

Overheard at Purdue

Me: *walks into Student Activities Office to fill out some forms for the Society of Non-Theists*
Guy 1: *to Guy 2, who’s filling out form* Club website? Heh, put goatse.
Me: *laughs*
Guy 2: …And this is a lesson on why you should see who’s standing behind you before saying something like that.
Me: Hey, I laughed and knew what goatse was. You got lucky that I’m another internet nerd.

I later found out they were with the Improv club, which was fittingly nerdy. Goatseing administrators would be a spectacular way to end a club – unfortunately your college career would probably end along with it.

And if for some unlikely reason you have no idea what I’m talking about, please do not Google image search goatse to find out. Or if you do, make sure to videotape yourself doing so.

New Comment System!

Thanks to our new troll, I’ve set up a new comment system with Intense Debate. What does this mean for you guys?

1. No more trolls and spammers, yaaaay! Well, at least a reduced number, since now I can ban IP addresses and do all sorts of nifty things. Now those of you who subscribe to comments don’t have to have that crap cluttering your inboxes or RSS feeds as I frantically delete them.

2. Comment threading! Yes, now instead of having to awkwardly reference people that are 15 comments above you, you can directly reply to their comment. It’s like it’s the year 2010 or something!

3. Comment rating. You can now upvote or downvote comments. That way if you don’t want to miss some of the more awesome things that have been said, you can just sort by rating. I think that’s pretty cool, especially since 90% of the time your comments are more entertaining/insightful than my original post.

There may be some bugs in the system, so email me (blaghagblog(at)gmail.com) if something isn’t working out. I know I just accidentally sent someone’s comment into moderation because I had “of” listed as a banned word – whoops. Ah, user error.

So, try it out! Consider this an open thread. Oh, and thank you psychotic Canadian troll for making this atheist blog even better!

EDIT: Soooo, Intense Debate was being a piece of crap. Sorry to lose the comments you guys left on the last couple of posts. I think this has been the final push I needed to switch over to WordPress…

Boy Scouts of America owned in today’s Exponent

I love reading the letters to the editor in our student newspaper. Really, it’s the only thing I’ll make sure to read every day, because it’s always chock-full of amusing letters. For example, this young man’s failed attempt to defend the Boy Scouts:

Boy Scouts organization does not discriminate

I am writing in response to Mr. Miller’s cheap shot at the Boy Scouts in his letter from Tuesday (“Hate to bear bad news, but humans have sex”). First off, it was unnecessary and childish, given that it was unrelated to the issue at hand (on which, coincidentally, I would tend to agree with you.) Secondly, the loss of funding to which you refer was politically motivated, rather than impartial.

However, the point is this: Boy Scouts, both as an organization and as individuals, do not discriminate. You cite atheists; one of Scouting’s core values is “duty to God.” (Note that no religion is specified.) Why, then would an atheist wish to join Scouts, other than to cause trouble?

You also mention homosexuals. Let’s stop and think for a moment: Scouts spend a large amount of time in the backcountry, far from “civilization,” for lack of a better word. The only ones around are the other boys in the troop, and the adult leaders. Do we really wish to place young boys in a position where they could be taken advantage of by an older boy or adult? Of course not.

Next time you take a shot at someone, take the time to learn the facts before you open your mouth; you’ll sound smarter.

Michael Harvath, Eagle Scout
Freshman in Engineering

Hmm, did someone just slander gays and atheists in one letter? Release the hounds!

Seriously, he got obliterated today, with six different letters refuting him. Go check them out. I’m pretty sure the majority of the writers are members of the Society of Non-Theists, so props to them! Always fun to hear the rational voices of Purdue!

Boy Scouts of America owned in today's Exponent

I love reading the letters to the editor in our student newspaper. Really, it’s the only thing I’ll make sure to read every day, because it’s always chock-full of amusing letters. For example, this young man’s failed attempt to defend the Boy Scouts:

Boy Scouts organization does not discriminate

I am writing in response to Mr. Miller’s cheap shot at the Boy Scouts in his letter from Tuesday (“Hate to bear bad news, but humans have sex”). First off, it was unnecessary and childish, given that it was unrelated to the issue at hand (on which, coincidentally, I would tend to agree with you.) Secondly, the loss of funding to which you refer was politically motivated, rather than impartial.

However, the point is this: Boy Scouts, both as an organization and as individuals, do not discriminate. You cite atheists; one of Scouting’s core values is “duty to God.” (Note that no religion is specified.) Why, then would an atheist wish to join Scouts, other than to cause trouble?

You also mention homosexuals. Let’s stop and think for a moment: Scouts spend a large amount of time in the backcountry, far from “civilization,” for lack of a better word. The only ones around are the other boys in the troop, and the adult leaders. Do we really wish to place young boys in a position where they could be taken advantage of by an older boy or adult? Of course not.

Next time you take a shot at someone, take the time to learn the facts before you open your mouth; you’ll sound smarter.

Michael Harvath, Eagle Scout
Freshman in Engineering

Hmm, did someone just slander gays and atheists in one letter? Release the hounds!

Seriously, he got obliterated today, with six different letters refuting him. Go check them out. I’m pretty sure the majority of the writers are members of the Society of Non-Theists, so props to them! Always fun to hear the rational voices of Purdue!

Wooo, atheism!

A couple of days ago I was walking with a friend to dinner. As I was crossing a busy intersection, a guy pops his head out of the passenger seat of his truck and happily screams “Woooo, atheism!” at me. I waved back, but didn’t get a good look at who it was since I was trying not to get hit by cars – I assume it was a club member.

This sort of random thing happens more and more the longer I’ve been president of the Non-Theists, and let me tell you: It totally makes my day. More often than not, when I go to a bar or club I’ll have at least someone give me a “Woooo, atheism!” high five. It’s usually a club member I don’t know as well (my friends don’t typically greet me this way, though that would be neat), or someone who never really comes to meetings but is happy that we exist.

And it’s another reason why I like having my occasional atheist t-shirt or button. I’ve struck up random, cool conversations waiting in lines, getting food, at the airport… It’s cool having that atheist secret hand shake!

Anyone else have any little, positive atheist experiences like that? If not, get a button or something!

Rejection and Acceptance

If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you’ll know that I recently found out I was rejected from both Harvard and Stanford. I think it’s important to blog about the process, not just for cathartic reasons, but for anyone else who might be in the same boat or thinking about applying to graduate school in the future. I waited a couple of days before typing this, because on Saturday I was still crying, wondering all of the “What if”s, and feeling melodramatically doomed about my future.

I’m feeling significantly less doomed, though my self esteem hasn’t quite recovered yet. For those of you who don’t know me well, I have very, very high standards for myself. Where any normal human being would be elated about their achievements, I can always come up with ways that I can do better. I know I’m a successful student because I’m so hard on myself. While I know I’ve accomplished some great things in college, it still never feels like enough.

And I’m my worst critic. All of my professors have been constantly telling me since freshman year how grad schools would just be dying to snatch me up, that they’ll be heavily recruiting someone with such a strong record, that having more than one publication under my belt would make me a shoe-in, that I’m Harvard and Stanford material, easily. And for most of the time, I was skeptical. I knew I was a good student, but I was going to keep working hard and not get my hopes up. I’d apply, and see how it went.

And apply I did. And then I got interviews. I was flown out, wined and dined, told by department heads how my resume was ten times better than theirs when they were applying to grad school, told how other schools paled in comparison to theirs, told how they can’t wait to see me in the fall. I left suddenly believing what those professors had been telling me all of those years. For a rare moment, I felt that I really was smart and hard working enough to belong in Harvard or Stanford. I felt proud of what I had accomplished, that four years of working my ass off and being passionate about science had paid off.

And then I was rejected.

If I had never gotten an interview, or if the interviews hadn’t seemed like they blatantly wanted me, I wouldn’t have been as upset. But instead of this being a predicted outcome, it was a ginormous let down. I know I shouldn’t bitch about not getting into Harvard or Stanford, since I have been accepted to the University of Washington – which I loved and is a fabulous school in itself. It’s just that for once in my life I had the amount of self esteem I should have, and it was dashed against the rocks.

I actually felt a bit worse when everyone found out, because they were so shocked. My one professor just seemed to share my disappointment, but the other (a Stanford alumni) seemed mixed between flabbergasted and mad at Stanford. My friends seem to have the reaction of “If anyone should be getting into those schools, it’s Jen!” And that really makes me feel like I screwed up somehow – that the unanimous opinion is that I rock, yet I still failed somehow. Though to all of my friends and readers who tweeted at me, emailed me, commented at me, and texted me – thanks for the support. With the attention I got, you would have thought I had posted a suicide note or something (I’m not that upset, sheesh).

As for why I was rejected, you never know. Both letters can be summarized by “You’re awesome, but the economy sucks, so we have no money or space and more people applied this year, sorry!” And if that’s the truth, it actually makes me feel a little crappier. Any normal human being might feel relieved, but I hate it when things are out of my control. It drives me crazy that even if I had worked harder, I still would have gotten screwed over by chance.

And when it comes to grad school, there are so many variables to take into consideration. Maybe they really were only able to take a few amount of people this year, and I just happened to be the worst of the best – I should still be proud of being with such a smart group. Maybe way too many human population biologists applied, and labs had space for different types of genetics. Maybe Purdue has a crappy genetics reputation compared to other places people were coming from. Maybe I was less desirable since I haven’t already worked on humans. Maybe ten people have generously donating alumni for parents. Maybe I have the interviewing skills of a troll. Maybe they found my blog and saw it as a liability (I doubt this one, since all the profs were all “Yay atheist clubs!”).

You never know. And to keep my sanity, I’m trying not to dwell on it. Instead I’m reminding myself how much I did love UW when I visited, how I did get into an amazing and well respected genetics program, how awesome Seattle is, and how soon I’ll be the first person in my family to get their PhD. For once, I’m trying not to dwell on how I could have done better, but be proud of what I have accomplished.

Soldier coming back home gay worse than coming back dead

I love reading letters to the editor in newspapers, because they’re always the best place to find spectacular gems of ignorance. For example, let’s look at a Florida resident’s brilliant logic when it comes to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:

As a former staff sergeant, war veteran and drill instructor in the Marine Corps, I believe the repeal this law will cause living hell within the ranks of the military, and also for the moms and dads whose kids are serving. It will be heartbreaking when a son comes home and says to his parents ‘I’m gay’ when he didn’t leave home gay.

Because that’s totally how homosexuality works. It’s a horrible disease that spreads to anyone hanging around queers for too long! Not, you know, biologically based behavior.

When it comes to gays in the military, it is not a question of them not being patriotic or not physically fit. Unfortunately, they are not morally fit. Their lifestyle has disqualified them to serve.

Because we don’t allow anyone in the military who has ever done something wrong. I’m sure there’s a test all recruits have to take that makes sure they fit the proper Christian moral ethics, which is why no one in the military has ever lied, stolen, masturbated, lustfully thought of a woman, taken the lord’s name in vain, eaten lobster, gotten tattoos…

One must understand that a homosexual person does not reproduce (homosexuals recruit). When I was a young Marine, one tried to recruit me into that lifestyle. It caused panic and fear to come over me. It is not discrimination or hate speech toward the gays, it is simply saying no.

These young people will be exposed to strong sexual attractions, and some will give themselves over to it because they are young and vulnerable.

They recruit, just like any other human trait where that human can’t reproduce! I knew those Tay-Sachs babies were causing other Tay-Sachs babies to be diseased. I mean, genetics, pfffffft.

Repeal the don’t ask, don’t tell policy and you will have the men who serve in an uproar. You will have open sex in the barracks, name calling, real threats and fighting among the troops, and even worse the violence of blanket parties. Late at night, some men will throw a blanket over a gay person and beat the life out of him. The repeal of this policy will give way to violence, no matter how much instruction is given by their leaders.

Yeah, and when all those macho, testosterone filled, heterosexual men start beating a gay man to a bloody pulp, it’s totally that gay guys fault! Sheesh, don’t they know heterosexuals just can’t control their rage?

Also, you will have disunity on the battlefield.

Today, if my son was going into the military, I would be more concerned about him coming home a gay person than worrying about him getting wounded or killed in battle.

We are becoming a pathetic nation with no clear moral values.

RICHARD GRANT

Lakeland

That’s right, son. I rather you come home in a casket than loving someone of the same sex. Better to be dead than gay.

…People like this fucking terrify me.