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My apologies for the garbled text of my previous message. Here it is in plain text. This was off the AP wire:
The Associated Press Updated: 10:39 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2005
HARRISBURG, Pa. - High school
students heard about “intelligent design” for the first time Tuesday in a school
district that attracted national attention by requiring students to be made
aware of it as an alternative to the theory of evolution. Administrators in the Dover Area
School District read a statement to three biology classes Tuesday and were
expected to read it to other classes on Wednesday, according to a statement from
the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., which was speaking on the
district’s behalf. The district is believed to be
the only one in the nation to require students to hear about intelligent design
— a concept that holds that the universe is so complex, it had to be created by
an unspecified guiding force. ‘Revolution in
evolution’ “The revolution in evolution has
begun,” said Richard Thompson, the law center’s president and chief counsel.
“This is the first step in which students will be given an honest scientific
evaluation of the theory of evolution and its problems.” The case represents the newest
chapter in a history of evolution lawsuits dating back to the Scopes Monkey
Trial in Tennessee nearly 80 years ago. In Georgia, a suburban Atlanta school
district plans to challenge a federal judge’s order to remove stickers in
science textbooks that call evolution “a theory, not a fact.” The law center is defending the
Dover district against a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of eight families by
the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church
and State. The two groups allege intelligent design is merely a secular
variation of creationism, the biblical-based view that regards God as the
creator of life. They maintain that the Dover district’s curriculum mandate may
violate the constitutional separation of church and state. “Students who sat in the
classroom were taught material which is religious in content, not scientific,
and I think it’s unfortunate that has occurred,” said Eric Rothschild, a
Philadelphia attorney representing the plaintiffs in the federal
lawsuit. Some students
upset Biology teacher Jennifer Miller
said although she was able to make a smooth transition to her evolution lesson
after the statement was read, some students were upset that administrators would
not entertain any questions about intelligent design. “They were told that if you have
any questions, to take it home,” Miller said. The district allowed students
whose parents objected to the policy to be excused from hearing the statement at
the beginning of class and science teachers who opposed the requirement to be
exempted from reading the statement. About 15 of 170 ninth-graders asked to be
excused from class, Thompson said. A federal judge has scheduled a
trial in the lawsuit for Sept. 26. © 2005 The Associated Press. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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