If Judah’s letter in the Gateway didn’t expose the intolerance of non-theistic beliefs at the University of Alberta, perhaps this will:

This is not a joke, this is a serious hate crime.

I have contacted Campus Security and have sent a press release to the local media outlets.



The University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics were targeted by hate-fuelled vandalism over the weekend of September 19-22 when their large banner was defaced. The banner has been hanging in the Central Academic Building of the University of Alberta since the start of the school year and was meant to encourage non-religious students to be willing to come out and join the freethinking group on campus. The banner featured a large, scarlet A, symbolic of the Out Campaign, which encourages atheists to come out of hiding. It also features the phrase “Speak Out”, emboldening students to know that atheism is an acceptable worldview. The vandals wrote “Jesus Christ is coming back” in large bold letters, as well as a large cross in the middle of the A. They also added a heart to the top of the A. The banner was hand-made by several of the exec members of the club last year, and is made from canvas to make it reusable. It is unknown yet what the damage was done with, and whether it is removable the or not. If the damage can be undone the banner will continue to fly. The materials for the banner cost around $70. Campus security has been made aware of the crime. President Ian Bushfield will continue to advocate for the non-religious and remains firm that the intolerance shown by some delinquents will not dissuade him from continuing his group.

Way to show your respect, tolerance and intelligence students.

Update: CTV ran the interview on Tuesday, September 24. I also noticed that our groups email and website were cut off of the bottom of the poster.

Further Update: If you want to criticize me about the use of the four letter h word, at least read my reaction to the reaction.