Student Pagan Association History
STUDENT PAGAN ASSOCIATION HISTORY
The Student Pagan Association was founded at the University of Arkansas at
Fayettteville as a Registered Student Organization in the Fall semester of
1993. S.P.A.
was accepted into the Council of Religious Organizations in 1994. The
four founders of the organization were Brian Smith, Chad Kieffer, Jeff
Harris, and Maria. Danielle Tatro and Eric Honaker were also very active
in the first few years. Brian and Maria were Egyptian Polytheists, while
Chad and Jeff had varied interests in world religions and religious
tolerance.
S.P.A. was formed as a kind of "support network" for
persons of non-traditional religions with an emphasis on pagan and
earth-based faiths. Some of the driving factors in the creation of the
organization were the shortage of meeting places for persons of minority
religions, the banning of incense in university dormitories, and the
desire to meet for purposes of ceremonies.
The early members
decided to have mostly meetings based on a lecture format, where lecturers
from the community or S.P.A. would give short lectures on topics related
to paganism or world religions. A sister organization, Alternative Paths,
was created in 1995 by David Harrison and Matt Apple to serve as a group
with a more social function for S.P.A. members. This group and its goals
were later absorbed back into S.P.A. as the members began meeting at a
local coffeeshop and after meetings and doing more social events together.
The first S.P.A. ceremony was Samhain of 1995 and featured a huge
bonfire and a ritual based on a metaphorical "descent and re-emergence
from the underworld." This ceremony was held in a large cave in West
Fork. S.P.A. has been conduction regular ceremonies for those interested
since then.
The official S.P.A. newsletter, Rite of Passage
, was published regularly the first few years, and more sporadically
in the years since.
In recent years, S.P.A. has held more social events, including
field trips, pizza parties, a New Year's Eve celebration, etc.
List of Past Presidents
1993-1995 Brian Smith
1995-1996 Chad Kieffer
1996-1998 Sheila Czech
1998-2000 Michael Clanton
2000-2001 Sherri Hamilton
2001-2002 Kari Dunlop
2002-2003 Leilani Lea
S.P.A. continues to emphasize academic research and excellence. S.P.A.
functions on three important levels: 1) education through meetings and
lectures, 2) social interaction through meetings, get-togethers, volunteer
work, and parties, and 3) ceremonies for those interested.