Travis Vail

May 29, 2013

Ask an Atheist: Why Don’t You Just Call Yourself an Agnostic?

By Jay Grafft, Travis Vail

When I engage in a philosophical or religious conversation with some of my peers, a common phrase reiterated is, “Oh, I’m not an atheist; I’m an agnostic.” Though it may appear insignificant, this statement actua...

May 14, 2013

Is Spirituality a Good Alternative to Religion? 

By Jay Grafft, Travis Vail

Because it is purposefully a vague term, it is difficult to get a good idea of exactly what spirituality may mean. It’s a term that has appeared in many cultures and eras, influencing and being influenced by a very div...

May 3, 2013

East vs. West: Ask an Atheist Sizes Up World Religions

By Jay Grafft, Travis Vail

Prompt: Do Eastern religions provide any benefits that Western ones might not?   In the Western world, or at least in the United States, religions of the Orient have increasingly come to take on an “exotic” and ...

April 19, 2013

Are Atheists Islamophobic?

By Jay Grafft, Travis Vail

Lately, the New Atheist movement has come under fire in the news, as is inevitable with movements such as this. Consisting of popular figures like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, New Atheism advocates actively opposing r...

February 1, 2013

Minorities May Not Rule, But They Still Deserve A Say

By Travis Vail

Why do atheists try to exert so much influence on public opinion if they know they are a minority?   In brief, you don’t need to be in a majority to have principles worth sharing. Whether or not skepticism spreads...

January 18, 2013

Does Atheism Constitute A Worldview?

By Travis Vail

A worldview is effectively a set of beliefs and assumptions through which someone interprets the world around them. Whether or not a philosophy qualifies as a worldview is really a matter of how pervasive that ideology i...

November 30, 2012

How Do Evolution and Natural Selection Affect Morality?

By Travis Vail

To answer the question bluntly, we simply wouldn’t have morality without evolution or natural selection. However, being fair to morality, we probably wouldn’t have survived as a species without it either. If we consi...

November 1, 2012

Can You Justify Atheism Without a Scientific Understanding of the Origin of the Universe?

By Travis Vail, Zoltan Mester

Topics like the formation of the universe are always contentious because there isn’t a universally accepted theory, and they can’t all be right. For that reason, it isn’t a bad thing when someone has the humility t...

October 23, 2012

For Golly’s Sake! When Words Turn to Sticks and Stones

By Travis Vail, Zoltan Mester

Q: Is it acceptable to prohibit blasphemy in consideration of public safety?   Happy belated International Blasphemy Rights Day! Recent events have made this quasi-holiday associated with September 30 more important...

July 12, 2012

What Do You Think Is the Most Interesting Logical Fallacy or Contradiction in Religious Dogma?

By Travis Vail

God is all that there is and all that there ever will be. He was around before time itself, around even before existence existed. With intention, God created the universe and all the things in it, including us. He has a ...

May 29, 2012

A.S. B.I.K.E.S. To Upgrade Racks, Install Air Pumps Across Campus

By Travis Vail

Officers from Associated Students’ Bicycle Improvements Keep Everyone Safe committee recently approved plans to build and upgrade bike parking at Kerr Hall and install more publicly accessible bike pumps across campus....

May 18, 2012

Peacemaking Program Mediates Inmate Conflicts

By Travis Vail

UCSB Extension Mediation instructor Laurel Kaufer will continue to teach her Prison of Peace program, an innovative initiative focusing on improving conflict resolution behind prison walls. This June, the project will en...

May 2, 2012

Congresswoman, Students To Join Forces for Protest

By Travis Vail

Congresswoman Lois Capps will attend a rally alongside stu- dents, including the newly elected Associated Students executives, pro- testing rising federal stu- dent loan interest rates at 1 p.m. today outside the Student...

April 30, 2012

Security Cameras To Help Combat Criminal Activity

By Travis Vail

The Santa Barbara Downtown Parking Dept. is installing new video surveillance equipment in local parking facilities to increase employee and shopper safety. An armed and masked suspect robbed parking kiosks in three sepa...

April 18, 2012

Library Funds Sponsor Kid’s Corner

By Travis Vail

The Goleta Valley Library will use the $21,001 from the California State Library and Friends of the Goleta Valley Library to open an “Infant and Toddler Town” Family Corner on May 3. The CSL provided a $15,000 grant ...

April 4, 2012

City Seeks Local Input on New Park

By Travis Vail

The city of Goleta will host the first of three planned design workshops this Saturday at the Goleta Valley Community Center to gather public input on the pending development of a new public park. The two-part event begi...