I The Behrend Beacon
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or 1
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution
Intelligent design includes tasty marinara
While the court is still out on the case to allow
Intelligent Design (ID) to be taught in the science
classrooms of Dover, Pennsylvania, the residents of
that town have delivered a resounding message to the
school board informing them of their own decision.
Those residents voted out every single board member
by overwhelming margins, letting it be known what
their verdict on the matter is.
So what is Intelligent Design, and why are some peo
ple pushing for it to be included in school science
classes? The main proponent of modern Intelligent
Design is Stephen C. Meyer. who also co-founded the
Discovery Institute, an establishment whose document
ed goals are to get God back into science and schools.
However, they claim God has nothing to do with
Intelligent Design. Rather, there is a nameless, power
ful, supernatural being that created the universe and all
the animals in it to he a specific way. I'm sure the dif
ference is obvious to you.
Now, this is all well and good. There's nothing real
ly wrong with Intelligent Design, and it's a matter of
belief similar to any ancient or modern religion. What
is wrong is that it is being touted as science, and as
such should he presented in the classroom. Supporters
state that Intelligent Design is a theory, and should be
given equal time with that other troublesome theory,
evolution through natural selection.
As you can imagine, most scientists have a problem
with this. While evolutionary theory is supported by
hundreds of thousands of peer-reviewed scientific jour
nal research documents, mountains of observable evi
dence, repeatable tests and is falsifiable and progres
sive, Intelligent Design has none of this. Not a single
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- The fantastic success of the
"Cardboard City" campagin.
- Thirty-seven remaining days
in the fall 2005 semester.
Professors who cancel class
due to the first day of hunting
season.
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Quote of the Week
"It is never to be expected in a revolution that
every man is to change his opinion at the same
moment. There never yet was any truth or any
principle so irresistibly obvious that all men
believed it at once. Time and reason must
cooperate with each other to the final estab
lishment of any principle; and therefore those
who may happen to be first convinced have not
a right to persecute others, on whom convic
tion operates more slowly. The moral principle
of revolutions is to instruct, not to destroy."
By Patrick Webster
as , .istant news editor
neNk.cditor(a pstLedu
%. ft
OPINION
peer-reviewed paper on the scientific evidence
Intelligent Design has ever been published. There is no
science involved. The basis of its entire argument is
that since some life forms arc so complex and some
parts of evolutionary theory are still unexplained, then
the only possible conclusion must be that there is an
Intelligent Designer involved. There is no theory in a
scientific sense there; all ID is, is a criticism of evolu
tion, and a poor one at that.
Intelligent Design being admitted to a science class
room only on the merits of its science is a circumstance
so unlikely that it borders on impossible. Should it
happen anyway, some people are prepared to use its
own redefinition of science against it.
One of these people is Bobby Henderson, a 25-year
old physicist from Kansas, a state that is trying to push
Intelligent Design into science classrooms. He has for
mulated a theory that uses many of the points that ID
does, including ridiculous correlations, to proclaim that
the universe is designed and controlled by an invisible
but supremely powerful Flying Spaghetti Monster
(FSM). He sent this theory to the school hoard, stating
that, based on the "science" used by Intelligent Design,
there is no way they could keep His Noodly Appendage
out of schools should ID he admitted: Since then, the
FSM has garnered international atteAtion. millions of
devout followers, and the support of academics. His
entire letter can be read at www.venganza.org. I will
conclude with his closing statement:
"I think we can all look forward to the time when
these three theories are given equal time in our science
classrooms across the country, and eventually the
world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third
time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third
time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming
observable evidence."
Beacon Thumbs Down
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laser printer.
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ZACK MENTZ
Penn State Erie,
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Can't stop the wild hate
The other day I was watching "Harold and Kumar Go to White
Castle" when I had a realization or rather an epiphany. If you are
not familiar with the movie, the premise of the movie deals with
two minority, college-aged students and the endeavors that they
encounter as they travel to a seemingly elusive destination of White
Castle. Throughout the film, the Chinese Harold and the Indian
Kumar come across and deliver many stereotypes of other races and
ethnicities. As a metaphor for our current social status, these
stereotypes hinder their journey.
As the movie ended and I was filled with many blatant stereotyp
ical ideas about different races and ethnicities, I began to consider
the many stereotypes and prejudices that our society has against
other countries. Stereotypes such as: Why do Irish people love
green beer? Why is it a German's instinct to drink beer with every
meal? Why do all Indian people want to be American doctors? Are
all Middle-East people terrorists? Is Frank Sinatra the epitome of
an Italian? Is school the only activity associated with Chinese peo
ple'? Are all Russians eternally drunk off of Vodka?
Many people who read that last paragraph may have been
extremely offended. As a matter of fact, I was offended by writing
it. However, denying that those stereotypes exist is perpetuating a
silent killer that has more casualties than most wars. Some people
may claim to he innocent of such accusation but having a stereo
type of another country is not the only stereotypes that exist.
Aside from the mass number of stereotypes aimed at other coun-
tries, here in America. every aspect of society uses a stereotype,
whether they are cognizant of it or not. How many times has a
black actor been portrayed as a criminal in a movie? How many
women or minorities have been denied a job because of a precon
ceived notion that their state of being is inferior? Why are homo
sexual people always immoral'? How many "adults" use their
stereotype:; of teenagers to make vivid, inaccurate assumptions?
The innumerable answers to these questions precisely reflect the
nature of our country.
In the vast, boundless search for an end to such deliberate hatred
nd ignorance, people have begun to place the blame on the wrong
people. In the component of Hollywood, surely there have been
Caucasian directors creating stereotypes of black actors in a nega
tive sense. Similarly, male actors give demeaning roles to some
women actresses, but these contrasting groups aren't the sole
provider in much of the unconstructive stereotypes.
The endless problem of stereotypes has been enabled and promot
ed by people in the specific race, sex, or ethnicity themselves.
Actor/comedian Dave Chappelle places a negative image of
African-American people in his comedy show. Likewise, comedi
ans such as Carlos Mencia and George Lopez have made derogato
ry statements about their own Mexican heritage. Comedian Ellen
DeGeneres once said, think they should have a Barbie with a
buzz cut. - This is a blatant mockery of herself as a homosexual
• I female.
When dealing with such stereotypes, one must observe two differ
ent vehicles for such ignorance. The average person must stay per
ceptive of such stereotypes; furthermore, people who have the cre
ative power to produce our nation's entertainment need to be as
aware that their message of ignorance and hatred does have an
affect on the people of American society. Even though the afore
mentioned Hollywood entities are making a dollar and creating
humor, they are simply perpetuating the cause of evil that is
destroying lives and reputation. Finally, the next time a friend
comes up to you and says, "I just heard the funniest
black/gay/woman/Asian/polish/etc. joke," don't express interest.
You'd only be fuelling blatant hatred and ignorance.
Submission Guidelines
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Letters and commentary pieces can be submitted by email to
opinion@psu.edu or directly to the Beacon office, located in the Reed
Building.
Letters should be limited to 350 words and commentaries should be
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be forced to edit it for space concerns and the more likely we are to run
the submission.
All submissions must include the writer's year in school, major and
name as The Beacon does not publish anonymous letters. Deadline for
any submission is 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon for inclusion in the Friday
issue. All submissions are considered, but because of space limitations,
some may not be published.
All submissions must include consent to be edited before they can be
edited for publication.
Friday, November 18, 2005
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