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CCSG Contributor
The Philosophy Club departed
from their usual Tuesday morning
meeting to discuss the facts about
“Intelligent Design,” evolution,
and Creationism. These facts
were questioned and discussed
among members of the
Philosophy Club and the Nittany
Christian Fellowship (NCF) in
the gazebo on the Delco campus.
The discussion was lead by the
Philosophy Club’s advisor, Dr.
David Macauley. One recent
event discussed at this meeting
was the on-going federal trial
currently - taking place in
Harrisburg, where a former
school board member is
contesting the right to teach
Intelligent Design (I.D.) in public
schools.
The plaintiff stands. on the
platform that the teachers who
have participated in the
controversial teaching have
violated the Constitution’s
explicit statement dividing
church and state. The Scope’s
Monkey Trial in 1925 was the
first case involving the teaching
of evolution in the classroom.
Tennessee biology teacher, John
XE
Scopes, violated a state law by
teaching evolution. The
Tennessee Supreme Court
repealed the law in 1967, and in
1968, the U.S. Supreme Court
abolished an Arkansas state law
forbidding the teaching of
evolution.
In 1987, the Court held that
states must not require public
schools. to teach both evolution
Today, President Bush thinks
that schools should present both
concepts when teaching about the
origins of life. Intelligent Design
dates back to Aristotle and
Thomas Aquinas, where it held
more of a philosophical front.
Back then, beliefs held that the
universe was created by a solitary
creator, or “intelligent designer,”
who conceived order and design
of everything existing in the
universe. “Now,” said Macauley,
Jennifer Rufo
CCSG Contributor
Imagine you could be in 24
different places at once all
. throughout Pennsylvania; and,
wherever you are, everyone
knows your name. If your
name happens to be Penn State,
then this is reality.
Yes, there is more to Penn
State than just University Park.
There are really 24 Penn State
locations spread throughout
Pennsylvania. The majority of
them make up what is known
as the Commonwealth.
Geographically dispersed
throughout Pennsylvania, the
Commonwealth is an integral
part of Penn State. In 2005, the
enrollment at the
Commonwealth campuses
makes up more than 30,000 of
University.
All campuses watch Penn
State football. All campuses
are different. Some have
dorms, whereas some are
commuter campuses. Some
campuses don’t even have
Housing and Food Services.
Some only have a few
buildings. Compare this to
University Park, a city in and
of itself, and it’s easy to see
how the other Penn State
campuses can be forgotten.
At State College, it seems
University Park is Penn State
and nothing else.
Commonwealth Corner hopes
to shed some light in the
crevices of the state that are
home to the rest of Penn State.
So who -am I, this self
appointed travel guide of
yours? I am Jennifer Rufo, an
“the more current version of I.D.
focuses on what it perceives to be
so-called gaps in evolutionary
theory.” He said I.D. claims there
is a specified complexity in life
that “cannot be accounted for
through random changes or blind
mutation, as evolutionary theory
would suggest. “I.D. can also be
tied into Creationism.
General consensus of the meeting
defined Creationism as the belief
that God created evolution and
still maintains
it.” Meredith Handwerk,
said that schools “should remove
the Intelligent Design
system from the classrooms.”
“Both of them [I.D. and evolution
should be taught, “said David
Pondelick, member of the NCEF,
“or neither
of them should be taught.” Other
campus organizations were
present at the discussion.
“Creationism should be taught in
Catholic schools and should not
be enforced in public schools
Mold & Shape the
average Journalism student
from West Chester, PA. I have
attended three different Penn
State locations. The majority
of my time, seven semesters,
was spent at Penn State
Delaware County (sometimes
fondly referred to as Delco).
One semester I spent at Penn
State Berks and now for my last
year I am at University Park.
I have been involved on
every campus, as Editor of
Delco’s Lion’s Eye, as a writer
for Berk’s Collegian, and now
as Editor-in-Chief of The
Councillor, a newspaper of an
organization called the
Council of Commonwealth
Student Governments, or
CCSG.
I am also on Central Staff
in CCSG. Our goal is to better
because there is not enough
proof,” said Ron Oz, president of
the Jewish Student
League. Darwin’s theory of
evolution holds that existence on
Earth began with simple life
forms, which over millions of
years, through natural selection,
created the variety of different
species and organisms existing
today. However, at the meet,
Darwin’s theory was found to be
just a theory, and thus, not a
precise truth.
Members of the Philosophy
Club spoke on their stances of
theory and evolution. “The earth
was flat until proven otherwise,”
said Jay Hart, “can we tie that into
evolution?” “People take the
word ‘theory’ too loosely. There
are going to be gaps in every
theory,” said Handwerk. Lisa
Watts, another student present at
the meeting, posed the thought
that people’s automatic
observation to a tangible object is
that someone had to have created
it. However, she said that the
World
the life of students at the
Commonwealth locations.
We hold meetings three times
a semester at University Park,
where representatives from
Commonwealth Student
Governments come together to
report on our progress in
reaching our goals, generate
new ideas and ways to make
the Commonwealth more
useful and fun for students, and
comment and -debate on what
can be done more successfully.
CCSG is made up of
different departments, such as
Academic Affairs,
Governmental Affairs, Student
Affairs, Caucus Directors, etc.
Each is instrumental in
“staff should teach creationism in
Sunday school and teach
evolution in public
school. “If you don’t want to
learn about it, why should you
have to learn about it in school? It
should be optional; every school
should have different electives for
kids to learn,” Watts said.
Professor Macauley’s responded
to this question: “I don’t see
anything wrong with teaching and
debating I.D. as part of a religious
curriculum, but I don’t think it
warrants being taught in a science
class as a view competing with
evolution. “After all, we often
exclude many other views, even
if they are popular, from
consideration because there is a
lack of evidence,” he said.
what they are doing at
Commonwealth Corner.
As we embark on our
journey, don’t forget to pack
your hiking boots, as some
places are in the mountains; or,
your pepper spray as we will be
nearing big, crime-filled cities;
and, most importantly, your
camera because some places
offer sights unseen anywhere
else. I'll give you a week to
pack.
In the meantime, to follow
what is going on in the Penn
State Commonwealth, log on
to www.clubs.psu.edu/ccsg.