Page 4
WORLD & NATION
Sept. 2, 2005
Greensboro. N.C.
llK push tor iMalgem Design
Beth Bass
Staff Writer
' he debate over teaching evolution
;iri public schools is back. This
time, instead of focusing on Creationism
the argument is over Intelligent Design.
The Discovery Institute, a main propo
nent of Intelligent Design, states on its
webpage, "The theory of Intelligent
Design holds that certain features of the
universe and of living things are best
explained by an intelligent cause, not an
undirected process such as natural
selection."
While Intelligent Design cannot be sci
entifically proven, some of its propo
nents still insist It has a place in a scien
tific curriculum. "Both sides ought to be
properly taught... so people can under
stand what the debate is about,"
President Bush said at a press confer
ence on August 1.
This comment has been widely criti
cized by scientists who argue that there
is no scientific basis to merit its place in
the classroom. Geology and Earth
Studies professor Dave Dobson said
"They are trying to teach religion in
schools. They wouldn't be happy with
the Hindu creation myth or the Greek
creation myth. They talk about both
sides which betray their viewpoints." He
also said that teaching Intelligent
Design to students in high school would
require them to forget it all to become a
successful biologist. "Teaching
Intelligent Design wouldn't harm a smart
student, but it will confuse people."
According to a 2004 Gallup poll, 45%
of Americans believe that God created
human beings in their present form at
one time within the last 10,000 years.
Only 13% said that humans evolved
from less advanced forms of life and
God had no part in the process. The
vast majority of scientists, however,
support some form of evolution.
Many feel that teaching Intelligent
Design does not directly oppose evolu
tion, because the theory doesn't argue
that evolution didn't happen. It does
suggest that some sort of greater mind
was behind the process.
Philosophy professor Vance Ricks
said that Intelligent Design should not
be taught in a science classroom, but
instead a religion or philosophy class.
He also said that a problem with this
debate was that "Scientists become
frustrated about the misunderstanding
of the word theory and opponents of
Wlni Hg brodier taHMis
Megan Feil
Staff Writer
D atabases. Millions of students
are entered in them. Even here
at Guilford there is the address book
database online.
Nationwide, there is a new system of
collecting information. The Pentagon
has compiled a youth database consist
ing of the information of students (ages
16 and up) in public schools in the
United States. They have access to
social security numbers, birth dates,
grade' point averages, ethnicity, email
addresses, and the subjects these stu
dents studied.
According to the Washington Post,
the Department of Defense says of the
database, "The purpose of the system
... is to provide a single central facility
within the Department of Defense to
compile, process and distribute files of
individuals who meet age and minimum
school requirements for military serv
ice." This is supposed to be a more
effective, efficient way of recruiting.
A private database marketing compa
ny called BeNow is the intermediary for
finding candidates for possible military
recruitment.
Based on the Electronic Privacy
Information Center's research, "BeNow,
does not even have a privacy policy, nor
has it troubled itself to enlist in a privacy
seal program". EPIC's further investiga
tions show that there is "disclosure of
records contained in the database for
functions wholly unrelated to recruit
ment."
Robert Duncan, a Guilford political
science professor, says, "That must vio
late the Privacy Act somehow".
Ironically, the government is involved in
this.
Because of an unrelated clause in
President George W. Bush’s No Child
Left Behind Act, the government has
been granted the right to cut off federal
aid from public schools if they do not
release students' personal information.
Duncan calls this a "devious, slippery
trick, characteristic of the current admin
istration".
How recruitment for the military
should be addressed seems to be an
issue that the government and the pub
lic seem to be divided on.36
Darwinism take theory to mean
blind conjecture."
When asked about the possibil
ity of Intelligent Design being
taught in Guilford county schools,
English Professor Nicole
McFarlane, a mother of three,
said, "I'm sure it's on the horizon
in the next 2-3 years. The fact
that we re talking about it shows
it's going on."38
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