While Cards Against Humanity is most famous for creating some of the most awkward moments at your most recent family get-together, they’re dipping their toes into social justice and outreach via a recently released new deck entitled the “Cards Against Humanity Science Ambassador Scholarship.”
Profits from the deck will go toward a scholarship for women going into STEM science, and will accept applications starting in the fall 2016 school year. The “science pack” functions just like a regular Cards Against Humanity deck (a dirty version of Apples to Apples for those not in the know), integrating scientifically charged phrases like “supermassive black hole” into the mix to create some truly hilarious and disgusting word combinations.
via Cards Against Humanity
It’s not the company’s first foray into do-gooding, having already raised over $2 million for causes like Donorschoose.org with past themed decks.
Co-founder and MIT astrophysics PhD candidate Josh Dillon explained that the scholarship would cover four years for high school or college to someone who identifies as female, as well as a side gig as a contributor to the Cards Against Humanity blog and social media presence.
“By giving somebody a platform, not only does it hopefully increase public understanding of science … but also it can change a public perception of who a scientist is,” Dillon told the Tribune.
Via Cards Against Humanity
The panel that will decide which applicant receives the scholarship will consist of forty women already working in the STEM field, the company explained. This move garnered a little criticism from the Chicago Tribune in a piece that argued that a scholarship panel of this nature should consist of both men and women.
Chicago Tribune writer Amina Elahi spoke to Janet Koster, the executive director and CEO of Alexandria-based Association for Women in Science, VA, who supported the program but noted that the lack of board diversity was a cause for concern.
“What we know from social science research is that diversity and diverse teams make more successful decisions,” Koster told the Tribune.
Cards Against Humanity co-creator Max Temkin took to Twitter, a little steamed but unmarred.
We've already been criticized by the Tribune for not having enough men involved: http://t.co/snc5BiInby
— Max Temkin (@MaxTemkin) March 30, 2015
The card deck was written by Cards Against Humanity staffers in collaboration with author Zach Weinersmith and astronomer-writer Phil Plait. You can snag your own “science pack” for a mere ten bucks over here.
[h/t Buzzfeed]
