NOSHA's Darwin Days:

Our Events, How We Made them Happen, and Lessons We Learned

This report on the three Darwin Days that have been held in New Orleans in the past three years is intended to provide information on what NOSHA did to make these events happen and provide information on what worked for us and what didn't. This information is provided in the hopes that others who may want to hold similar events may benefit from our experiences.

New Orleans' and NOSHA's First Darwin Day: During the fall of 1999, when NOSHA was only a few months old, the question was posed, "What can NOSHA do to become more visible, and to raise public awareness of secular humanism?" One of NOSHA's founding members, Lucy Tierney, suggested that we have a Darwin Day celebration like some other humanist groups. The idea struck a chord, and we began to plan for a Darwin Day event early the following year as close to Darwin's birthday (February 12) as possible. A planning committee was formed, chaired by Dr. Harold Dundee.

NOSHA's first Darwin Day event was held on Saturday February 12, 2000 on the campus of Tulane University. It was co-sponsored by Tulane's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Geology. The day began with a showing of the video "The Origin" which details Darwin's life, his ideas, and his influence on our modern understanding of living things. Following the video, NOSHA President, Harry Greenberger, and Dr. George Flowers, Chair of the Department of Geology welcomed a group of about 70 people. Dr. Milton Fingerman, Emeritus Professor of Biology at Tulane, gave the keynote address entitled "The ongoing fight against the teaching of creationism." A second talk entitled "Darwin's Law of Higgledy-Piggledy" was given by Tulane Biology Professor, Dr. Steven Darwin. The talks were followed by a short question and answer period, and Darwin Day ended with a short social and discussions among participants.

Our Efforts for the first Darwin Day: Although the first Darwin Day was a relatively small event, there was a significant amount of effort invested to make it happen. Dr. Harold Dundee, an Emeritus Professor at Tulane University, made most of the arrangements for Tulane to host Darwin Day and arranged for the speakers. The planning committee wanted to hold the event at a university because of the credibility and greater visibility that a university setting would bring to the event. Because we began planning the event in late fall, we ran up against the winter holiday break at all the local universities. Speaker commitments and arrangements for space had to wait until January. There were times in early January when it was doubtful that it could all be pulled together. In the meantime, the Council for Secular Humanism was asked for help with publicity for the event. CSH agreed to distribute notices to members in the New Orleans-Gulf Coast region. Press releases were sent to local media but none were published. A founding member of NOSHA, David Oliver, placed a large advertisement in a Biloxi newspaper at his own expense. At least two people attended Darwin Day from Mississippi as a result. Most attendees were previously unfamiliar with NOSHA, and approximately 20 names were added to NOSHA's mailing list as a result of Darwin Day.

New Orleans Darwin Day 2001: Planning for the second Darwin Day began in early September 2000. The planning committee was co-chaired by Dr. David Schultz and Dr. Harold Dundee. From the beginning, Darwin Day 2001 was planned to be a bigger event than the previous years. In addition to a day of talks and discussion, an essay contest for students at all grade levels in Southeastern Louisiana was planned. We also planned to have more speakers, to bring in a keynote speaker of national prominence, and to encourage greater involvement in terms of co-sponsorship from local universities. To cover the additional expenses of a larger event a grant was sought and obtained from the Humanist Fund of the Institute for Humanist Studies. Additionally, a T-shirt was designed to commemorate the event and to generate additional funds. (Photos of Dawin Day 2001 can be seen on NOSHA's photo page.)

New Orleans Darwin Day 2001 was held on February 10 on the campus of the University of New Orleans. It was co-sponsored by the Department of Biology at UNO, the Department of Biology at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, the Honors Program at Delgado Community College, and the Institute for Humanist Studies. The day began as in the previous year, with a showing of "The Origin." This was followed by formal welcomes from Dr. Sam Rogers, Head of the Department of Biology at UNO, and Harry Greenberger. Dave Schultz was the Master of Ceremonies for the day. Dr. Massimo Pigliucci, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville was the keynote speaker. His talk was entitled, "Creationism vs. Evolution: The Twin Dangers of Religious and Scientific Fundamentalism." Other speakers were Dr. Ron Good, Professor of Education at Louisiana State University, Dr. Barbara Forrest, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University, Dr. Edward Johnson, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at UNO, and Dr. David Schultz, Biologist at Nicholls State University. Dr. Good's talk was entitled, "Is Darwinian Scientific Thought Unnatural?", Dr. Forrest's talk was entitled, "The 'Wedge Strategy' of Intelligent Design Creationism." Dr. Johnson's talk was entitled, "Darwin and Philosophy Today." Dr. Schultz's talk was entitled, "Keeping Creationists Honest: An Analysis of Arguments." Approximately 100 people attended the event. Each talk generated many questions and comments. At the mid-afternoon break all attendees shared a birthday cake for Charles Darwin.

Our Efforts for Darwin Day 2001: Although planning for Darwin Day 2001 began in early September, finding a site for the event proved difficult and time consuming. Tulane's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Loyola's Department of Biology were both invited to sponsor and to provide space for the event. From the outset, the Department Head at Tulane seemed reluctant. He had not be involved in the planning for the previous year, and said he would have to seek approval from his faculty. The final word from Tulane did not come until December 12; they decided they should not to get involved with an organization that had a "political or social agenda." The Department Head at Loyola did try to schedule a large auditorium for the event but found that it was already reserved for the planned date. He took no further action and attempts to get co-sponsorship from Loyola were abandoned. Shortly before the winter holiday break, Dr. Robert Cashner, Dean of the Graduate School at UNO was approached about providing space for the event, and he was able to find an auditorium for us to use.

While the Darwin Day Committee was trying to locate space for Darwin Day, the grant proposal to the Institute for Humanist Studies' Humanist Fund was submitted. The good word came within a few weeks. At that point we proceeded with attempting to obtain media coverage and to initiate the essay contest. The student essays were to address the question: "Why Should Everyone in Louisiana Want to Learn about Evolution?" A Grand Prize of $200 was offered for the overall best essay, $100 was to be given to students with the best essays in grades K through 8, and 9 through 12. The Louisiana Science Teachers Association was asked to distribute information about the contest in their newsletter and through their listserve. This request was met with reluctance because of the potential controversy. Two different individuals associated with LSTA accepted the announcement by e-mail and FAX and said they could distribute it. However, there is no evidence that this was done. To maximize the chances that science teachers would receive information about the essay contest and Darwin Day, a mass mailing of fliers went out to approximately 200 schools in Southeast Louisiana about one month before Darwin Day. In spite of the effort, only two essays were received, and neither addressed the topic question (one essay made a case against evolution using standard creationist arguments taken from the Internet). No prizes were awarded.

In an attempt to get inexpensive publicity, press releases were sent to the local media. They had no effect. The New Orleans Times-Picayune was approached directly in an attempt to get a science or education reporter to write a story in advance of Darwin Day. The reporter who responded, Kevin Nolan, is the editor of the Religion page. He wrote an excellent story on the motivations behind Darwin Day and gave some detail on the plans; however, it was published the morning of Darwin Day. At least a few people in attendance said they were there because of the story. Most of the attendees who were not associated with NOSHA had heard about Darwin Day through faculty members at local universities. There were a number of UNO students in attendance as well as contingents from Southeastern Louisiana University and Nicholls State University.

On the eve of Darwin Day a social was hosted at the home of NOSHA members Harry and Bebe Freeman for the NOSHA board members, the Darwin Day Committee, and the speakers from both the current and previous year. Harry and Bebe graciously offered their home and provided wine and hors d'oeuvres.

Comments from Darwin Day attendees were very positive. Although Dean Cashner was unable to attend, he said he had received positive feedback from those in the Department of Biology at UNO who had attended. Approximately 25 people were added to the NOSHA mailing list following Darwin Day 2001.

Because no prizes were awarded for the essay contest, and because travel and expenses for Dr. Pigliucci were less than anticipated, Darwin Day costs were considerably less than expected. Monies unspent were saved with the expectation that they could be applied to Darwin Day 2002. Although T-shirt sales at the event did not cover expenses, sales to NOSHA members over the next few months generated some additional funds.

New Orleans Third Annual Darwin Day: Planning for the next Darwin Day began in September 2001. Dave Schultz chaired the committee. Dean Cashner was again approached about having UNO sponsor the event. He asked the heads of several departments to consider sponsoring the event. Dr. Jeffrey Ehrenreich, Head of the Department of Anthropology agreed to have his department sponsor the event. Dean Cashner also received co-sponsorship endorsements from the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Sciences, and the Sigma Xi and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. Drs. Cashner and Ehrenreich were very positive about the event and welcomed NOSHA's involvement.

The Third Annual Darwin Day was held on Saturday March 2. Six speakers were scheduled. Funding from the Graduate School at UNO sponsored Dr. Tim Berra, Biologist at The Ohio State University. Dr. Berra's talk was entitled, "Charles Darwin: The Man 1809-1882." With funding help from the Institute for Humanist Studies, NOSHA sponsored Dr. Alan Gishlick of the National Center for Science Education, whose talk was entitled, "Tapestry of Life: How Darwin changed our View of Life." Additional speakers included Dr. Barbara Forrest, Philosopher at Southeastern Louisiana University, Dr. Nancy Easterlin, Associate Professor of English at UNO, Dr. Alec Leonhardt, Visiting Professor in African and African Diaspora Studies at Tulane University, and Dr. Clifford Cuffey, Earth Scientist. Barbara Forrest gave and an update on her previous Darwin Day talk entitled, "The Advance of the Wedge: Update on Intelligent Design Creationism." Nancy Easterlin's talk was entitled "What is Darwinian Feminism?" Alec Leonhardt's talk was entitled "Cultural Evolution and Anti-authoritarianism." Clifford Cuffey's talk was entitled "Interpreting Earth History: Implications for the Evolution-Creation Controversy." As in previous years, the talks elicited many comments and questions. (Photos of Dawin Day 2002 can be seen on NOSHA's photo page.)

Our Efforts for the Third Annual Darwin Day: The Institute for Humanist Studies granted our request to apply unspent funds toward the sponsorship of a speaker for Darwin Day in 2002. With this money NOSHA arranged to have Alan Gishlick speak.

Even though Dean Cashner and Department Head Jeffrey Ehrenreich were positive about Darwin Day, and they were happy to have NOSHA's help in planning and to share in financing the event, NOSHA's involvement was conditional. NOSHA could not be listed as a formal sponsor in publicity for the event because of the potential for UNO to be forced to grant equal time and access to university facilities to other community organizations. Therefore, NOSHA became a "silent partner" in the 2002 Darwin Day. These terms were agreed to because we recognized that the long-term goal of having Darwin Day become an annual event was more important than NOSHA receiving credit for its involvement.

The late date of Darwin Day in 2002 was the result of several major conflicts. Mardi Gras fell on Darwin's Birthday, February 12. Consequently, the weekends before and after would not work. Earlier in February New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl. Serendipitously, Tim Berra was available for March 2 and that fixed the date.

Because UNO was taking the lead, and because they had a media relations department, UNO took responsibility for advertising. It is unclear how much effort was devoted to getting out advance publicity, however, no advance publicity in the local media was generated. Although reporters were invited out to cover Darwin Day, the run-off election for Mayor scheduled for the same day made this an impossibility. As in the previous two years, publicity in advance of Darwin Day was a major shortcoming.

One of the major successes of the third Darwin Day was that Dean Cashner stated a commitment to make Darwin Day at UNO an annual event. He plans to have sponsorship rotate among science departments within the university and has invited NOSHA's continued involvement.

Advice to those planning a Darwin Day event:

• Plan early. This goes for all aspects of the event.
• If university involvment is desired, find a single individual within the university with a strong commitment to having Darwin Day be a recurring event. Do not waste time negotiating with a potential sponsor if they are not highly positive about the event.
• Plan on spending a significant amount of effort toward advance publicity, especially if the press in your area is not interested in promoting events like Darwin Day. Mailing flyers to biology, geology, and philosophy departments in the area brought some faculty and students to our event each year.
• Invite keynote speakers early. With Darwin Day becoming more popular nationwide, speakers that are likely to draw attention to your event are limited.
• In addition to travel expenses, speakers may expect a significant honorarium. Find a source of funds, and know how much you can spend before inviting speakers.
• Celebrations need not be on February 12 to have the desired effect. Be flexible.
• Four speakers are enough for a full Darwin Day program. Speakers like to give presentations of 45 to 60 minutes. Reduce the number of speakers if other activities are planned.
• Essay contests are difficult. Unless you can be certain that a large number of students will hear about the contest from enthusiastic teachers, a high rate of participation is unlikely.
• Arranging for a panel of judges is also difficult. In both areas we were unsuccessful.
• Commemorative T-shirts can generate some cash to offset the expense of the event. Sizes L and XL are preferred by most people, even those who are clearly size S and M.

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