Previously known as the Eastern Atheists, the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) at EWU transitioned from a private club to becoming a chapter of a national secular organization.

SSA provides students with a safe place for open discussion that may not fit into the predominant beliefs on campus.

“The sensation of being isolated within a community as large as EWU is very disheartening,” said Ben McGrew, club president of SSA, in an email. “It is often unthinkable to interact with any random group of people in a meaningful way due to fears of being publicly and aggressively ostracized.”

According to McGrew, that EWU lacks religious diversity in its established clubs.

“Our student body is painfully underrepresented. Situations like this are very serious for those who don’t share the mindset of the apparent supermajority,” McGrew said.

EWU’s SSA goals and mission align themselves with the national secular organization.

The national organization’s site states: “The mission of the Secular Student Alliance is to organize, unite, educate, and serve students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human-based ethics. We envision a future in which nontheistic students are respected voices in public discourse and vital partners in the secular movement’s charge against irrationality and dogma.”

This quarter, meetings are held every Friday at 4 p.m. in the Honor’s Lounge of Hargreaves. SSA also regularly updates its Facebook page: EWU Secular Student Alliance.

McGrew wants to dispel the misconception that the group only discusses their unbelief when together.

“We largely already agreed with one another on the topic of religion, so we happily chatted about more contending matters like relationships, martial arts, social and political issues, environmentalism, how we could help the community despite the stigma surrounding our affiliation and anything else that piqued our interest,” McGrew said.

Thomas Hawley, advisor to the group and chairman of the government department, emphasized the importance of the group on campus, having personally gone through a crisis of faith in college, causing him to move away from a prevalent religious belief. He believes it also serves as sort of a support group for like-minded students.

“We’re here, we play an undeniably significant role politically, socially, and culturally, our ideals are overwhelmingly consistent with academia, and yet we’re regularly ostracized, vilified, and marginalized,” McGrew said. “This group needs to be on campus because every quarter we have a fresh wave of new members who need to share their stories and a place where they can be accepted while being true to themselves.”