The current FTA logo.
| Meetings |
| Tuesdays from 6pm to 7:30pm, UNT Language Building Room 114 |
| Officer meetings (Open to all): Wednesday at 6pm at Big Mike's |
| Website |
| Freethought Alliance |
| Freethought Alliance Facebook Page |
| Contact |
| [email protected] |
The Freethought Alliance or FTA (and even sometime UNT FTA, but try pronouncing that as a word) is a UNT student organization. They hold discussion meetings on the UNT campus. Most members are UNT students.
Its mission is to challenge conceptions, promote tolerance, encourage skepticism, and a foster better general understanding of secular philosophy and the sciences. Most meetings are discussion-based, with occasional direction by an officer in charge of the meeting. The group's style of meetings is very egalitarian, and lecture formats are often eschewed in favor of group discussion and participation.
History
The Freethought Alliance started in fall of 2006 as a response to UNT's previous lack of any such organization. Meetings were originally held in The Tomato on Sundays, though sometimes on campus for guest lectures. The group's meetings were held up by excessive attention to bylaws and a lack of separate officer meetings, and the group dissolved for a time in the spring of 2007.
The FTA was reformed on campus in the fall of 2007 with some of the same members and some new ones and has been a continuous presence on campus since. Its current mission statement, meeting structure, officer organization, and mission statement were created and solidified during the fall of 2008.
Volunteer Activity
The Freethought Alliance's membership actively volunteer under the FTA name. It has volunteered in the past with Keep Denton Beautiful. They also adopted a highway during the Spring semester of 2010. The adopted stretch of highways sits two miles north of loop 288 along FM 2164. The FTA pick up trash along this highway 4 times a year.
Exploits
The UNT Freethought Alliance has hosted some famous names over the years.
Lori Lipman Brown - Fall 2008 Dan Barker - Spring 2009 Kathleen Johnson - Spring 2010
Logo Controversy
The current FTA logo is scheduled to be redesigned because some non-members complained the 't' looked too much like a Christian cross. The concern was that the organization might be mistaken for a covert evangelical outreach operation (a real concern, as such groups exist). Members are generally very tolerant of religious belief, and have often noted that the group's skeptical discussions have caused their beliefs to become more moderate.
