Each year, the Secular Student Alliance offers scholarships to student activists who demonstrate secular values in their personal lives, on their campus, and in their community.

The strength of any community is dependent on shared vision, trust and support. With that in mind, we have formed a Care Response Team. The Oasis Care Response Team is dedicated to overseeing secular celebrations of life as well as being actively present in times of need.

February is African American History Month, and an excellent time to honor the contributions of Dr. Charles Richard Drew, an African American physician, surgeon, and medical researcher.

Sometimes I like to step back and take a look at myself from a distance, as much as that is possible, that is. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, and I’ve noticed one thing in particular: I’ve been spreading myself out kind of thin. My work and time with my daughters are fairly stable constants in my life.

When I look back at where we started, I'm amazed at how far we have come.

I don’t own many t-shirts so on hot Houston weekends my Oasis shirts bearing our first core value “People are more important than beliefs” get a disproportionate share of sunshine.

More often than we would like to admit, we lead curiously monotonous lives. Work, home and the occasional insufficient vacation. We could hardly be blamed for not placing a priority on how those around us are going about their own lives. But this is not about them. It is about us and how their plight affects us.

Because I am legally blind, I thought it might be helpful to write a blog to inform others about my disability, to educate and to show that I am a fellow Oasian who enjoys being a part of the community like everyone else.

"Human hands solve human problems" is my favorite Oasis Core Value. I believe the only way to help the world is by actually putting in the hours and getting hands on. This value is one that I want my children to grow up incorporating into their lifestyle.

Every four years, the world slows to a standstill to watch 22 grown men chase after a ball. The World Cup provides drama and pageantry, but is there something truly special about sweaty individuals with muscular thighs trying to kick a ball through a rectangle?

In many respects, I breathe the Oasis core values. As a scientist by training who serves others, my favorite core values are: “Reality is known through reason” and “Human hands solve human problems.” Today though, I want to address the core value I struggle with the most: “Be accepting and be accepted.”

A community of reason and compassion. That is how we describe the Houston Oasis Community. It’s an encapsulation of the community’s core values. Yet beneath this simple expression lies complexity and ambiguity...

I don’t get too excited about a lot of things. My highs are not too high, and my lows are not too low. I tend to live in a moderate, middle, calm area that I sometimes call Zen. Now in my mid 40s, I’ve realized some ideas that DO excite and energize me...