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Professor's Snub of Creationists Prompts U.S. Inquiry
New York Times ^ | 2/02/03 | NICK MADIGAN

Posted on 02/03/2003 3:53:13 AM PST by kattracks


LUBBOCK, Tex., Feb. 2 — A biology professor who insists that his students accept the tenets of human evolution has found himself the subject of Justice Department scrutiny.

Prompted by a complaint from the Liberty Legal Institute, a group of Christian lawyers, the department is investigating whether Michael L. Dini, an associate professor of biology at Texas Tech University here, discriminated against students on the basis of religion when he posted a demand on his Web site that students wanting a letter of recommendation for postgraduate studies "truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer" to the question of how the human species originated.

"The central, unifying principle of biology is the theory of evolution," Dr. Dini wrote. "How can someone who does not accept the most important theory in biology expect to properly practice in a field that is so heavily based on biology?"

That was enough for the lawyers' group, based in Plano, a Dallas suburb, to file a complaint on behalf of a 22-year-old Texas Tech student, Micah Spradling.

Mr. Spradling said he sat in on two sessions of Dr. Dini's introductory biology class and shortly afterward noticed the guidelines on the professor's Web site (www2.tltc.ttu.edu/dini/Personal/letters.htm).

Mr. Spradling said that given the professor's position, there was "no way" he would have enrolled in Dr. Dini's class or asked him for a recommendation to medical school.

"That would be denying my faith as a Christian," said Mr. Spradling, a junior raised in Lubbock who plans to study prosthetics and orthotics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "They've taken prayer out of schools and the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms, so I thought I had an opportunity to make a difference."

In an interview in his office, Dr. Dini pointed to a computer screen full of e-mail messages and said he felt besieged.

"The policy is not meant in any way to be discriminatory toward anyone's beliefs, but instead to ensure that people who I recommend to a medical school or a professional school or a graduate school in the biomedical sciences are scientists," he said. "I think science and religion address very different types of questions, and they shouldn't overlap."

Dr. Dini, who said he had no intention of changing his policy, declined to address the question of his own faith. But university officials and several students who support him say he is a religious man.

"He's a devout Catholic," said Greg Rogers, 36, a pre-med student from Lubbock. "He's mentioned it in discussion groups."

Mr. Rogers, who returned to college for a second degree and who said his beliefs aligned with Dr. Dini's, added: "I believe in God and evolution. I believe that evolution was the tool that brought us about. To deny the theory of evolution is, to me, like denying the law of gravity. In science, a theory is about as close to a fact as you can get."

Another student, Brent Lawlis, 21, from Midland, Tex., said he hoped to become an orthopedic surgeon and had had no trouble obtaining a letter of recommendation from Dr. Dini. "I'm a Christian, but there's too much biological evidence to throw out evolution," he said.

But other students waiting to enter classes Friday morning said they felt that Dr. Dini had stepped over the line. "Just because someone believes in creationism doesn't mean he shouldn't give them a recommendation," said Lindsay Otoski, 20, a sophomore from Albuquerque who is studying nursing. "It's not fair."

On Jan. 21, Jeremiah Glassman, chief of the Department of Justice's civil rights division, told the university's general counsel, Dale Pat Campbell, that his office was looking into the complaint, and asked for copies of the university's policies on letters of recommendation.

David R. Smith, the Texas Tech chancellor, said on Friday afternoon that the university, a state institution with almost 30,000 students and an operating budget of $845 million, had no such policy and preferred to leave such matters to professors.

In a letter released by his office, Dr. Smith noted that there were 38 other faculty members who could have issued Mr. Spradling a letter of recommendation, had he taken their classes. "I suspect there are a number of them who can and do provide letters of recommendation to students regardless of their ability to articulate a scientific answer to the origin of the human species," Dr. Smith wrote.

Members of the Liberty Legal Institute, who specialize in litigating what they call religious freedom cases, said their complaint was a matter of principle.

"There's no problem with Dr. Dini saying you have to understand evolution and you have to be able to describe it in detail," said Kelly Shackelford, the group's chief counsel, "but you can't tell students that they have to hold the same personal belief that you do."

Mr. Shackelford said that he would await the outcome of the Justice Department investigation but that the next step would probably be to file a suit against the university.



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To: Sci Fi Guy
Actually the court is being asked to protect students from discrimination. The professor is a bigot.

First, there's no court involved yet. Only a whining letter to the DOJ. Second, the professor is no bigot for saying: "If you don't grasp evolution, I don't care; but don't come in here and ask me to recommend you as a candidate for advanced science study."

What if the good Professor felt that Black people just couldn't be good scientists? And therefore they need not ask for recommendations.

Hey, yeah! And what if he stabbed his grandmother 50 times and kept her carcass in the trunk of his car? Right. Let's get that guy!

The only difference is that the area of discrimination is religion and not race.

This is not religious discrimination. If your religion required you to work nude with your butt painted blue, and your employer insisted on clothing, I'm sure you'd say that this was a case of bigotry. But it's not. Cultists can't have it their way all the time.

381 posted on 02/03/2003 6:08:55 PM PST by PatrickHenry (Preserve the purity of your precious bodily fluids!)
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To: Under the Radar
From the above, a reasonable person would conclude that you are in fact stating that a student should be able to compel a college professor to write him a letter of recommendation

No, that's not what it is about. The teacher has no right to force his personal preferences on students and ask them to swear allegiance to an atheistic ideology. This is abuse of power. How would you feel if a teacher said that no atheists would be allowed to pass a course? This is not the role of a teacher. A teacher is there to instruct and nothing else.
Further, this Dini guy shows exactly why evolution is not science. The man is ideologue. What that means is that he has a closed mind. He is no scientist.

382 posted on 02/03/2003 6:16:21 PM PST by gore3000
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To: Right Wing Professor
What does it matter if you don't obey the law, as long as you know what it is, right!

There is no reason why someone should be an atheist in order to practice medicine. In fact, the opposite should be the case. For one thing it has been scientifically proven that faith heals. For another, an atheist who has so little regard for human life that he thinks of it as just a little more advanced than a mouse should not be allowed to make life and death decisions.

383 posted on 02/03/2003 6:20:16 PM PST by gore3000
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To: Physicist
The professor didn't withhold his opinion because they are Christians. He withheld it because they are creationists.

At last you have given the definition of "creationist" which the evolutionists deny - a Christian who does not believe in evolution. Of course since evolution is a materialistic/atheistic theory DESIGNED by Darwin to drive Christians away from their religion in a subversive manner.

384 posted on 02/03/2003 6:24:13 PM PST by gore3000
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To: Physicist
The is really more analogous to a 4th Century BC Greek philosopher refusing to recommend a student who would not declare a personal belief in the theory of spontaneous generation of life from inanimate matter (although the student could describe the theory perfectly well).

The students are not being punished for being Christian as much as they are for refusing to genuflect before the magickal life alchemy icon of Adept Charles Darwin.

385 posted on 02/03/2003 6:30:40 PM PST by Kevin Curry
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To: PatrickHenry
If your religion required you to work nude with your butt painted blue

Welcome to the fold, brother!

But it's really "green" and it's not for your butt.



386 posted on 02/03/2003 6:49:40 PM PST by balrog666 (If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything - Mark Twain)
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To: Dataman
You're making a distinction that was not previously made: the refusal to obey unjust or evil laws. That does not require a religion to do so, but usually does.

I still repeat the unanswered question I've been posing since this afternoon: if your faith required you to commit an act of Treason. . . .which would you choose ?
387 posted on 02/03/2003 7:00:29 PM PST by Salgak (don't mind me: the orbital mind control lasers are making me write this. . .)
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To: Under the Radar
Thank you for your post!

you have made no connection between this particular fact pattern and a charge (criminal, no less) of "religious discrimination.

Again, I have not seen the complaint filed by the law firm with the Department of Justice. The word complaint suggests something of a criminal nature. The Department of Justice is federal. The word discrimination was used.

Looking at the Federal Statutes, Title 18 deals with Crimes and Criminal Procedures, Part 1 deals with Crimes, Chapter 13 deals with Civil Rights crimes.

You can investigate this yourself at this link. I see two possible Sections that might be applicable to the words they have used in this article: 241 and 245.

Section 245 are federal protected activities and 241 covers conspiracy against rights. If the professor and the school are seen as co-conspirators to discriminate against the student based on religion it would fall to 241. If it were the professor alone it would be 245.

With regard to the 241 possibility the associated press article indicates:

The legal complaint was filed against Texas Tech University and professor Michael Dini by a student and the Liberty Legal Institute, a religious freedom group that calls Dini's policy "open religious bigotry." ...

Texas Tech spokeswoman Cindy Rugeley said that the university stands by Dini, and that his policies do not conflict with those of Texas Tech.

That's what I see as the worst case scenario for the professor and the school, maybe you would see something different.

388 posted on 02/03/2003 7:35:18 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Under the Radar
Thank you for your post!

From the above, a reasonable person would conclude that you are in fact stating that a student should be able to compel a college professor to write him a letter of recommendation provided that the school receives public funds or the instructor receives tax monies in any way, and said letter was necessary for the student's further career.

Am I misunderstanding you?

Yes, you are misunderstanding me. The issue has nothing to do with the right to a letter of recommendation. The issue has everything to do with discrimination based on religious beliefs.

389 posted on 02/03/2003 7:38:34 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Ichneumon
However, in order to get a *science* degree, he's reasonably requiring them to accept the prevailing *scientific* viewpoint. This seems reasonable -- if you want a science degree, you can't be philosophically disposed to reject science.

As I stated on the earlier thread, this professor shouldn't require anyone to "accept" or "believe" anything; rather, if a student is able to fully explain evolutionary theory/science, both the student and the teacher have done their jobs and that should be the end of it.

As far as the rest of your spiel goes, what you are advocating is that public universities refuse to graduate individuals based on their religious beliefs, not based on their understanding of the subject matter, or their ability to articulate and apply it. Each of your questions posits whether one should or should not graduate based upon their beliefs. Thank goodness this country has never operated in such fashion. How can one identify what another believes? How can the state determine the strength of one's conviction in any particular belief? What if the most knowledgeable student believes that modern theory is flawed? Should the state preclude him from engaging in provocative thought because his belief system is not the same as that of his state-sponsors?

An adequate explanation requires no greater effort.

390 posted on 02/03/2003 7:38:39 PM PST by Kryptonite
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To: general_re
Your choice - I'm not sure when I'll next be in Illinois, so keep that in mind

No problem, whoever wins can mail the other a gift certificate to a restaurant of their choice.

391 posted on 02/03/2003 7:41:02 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Alamo-Girl
The issue has nothing to do with the right to a letter of recommendation.

What right to a letter of recommendation?

392 posted on 02/03/2003 7:47:01 PM PST by Nebullis
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To: Nebullis
Thank you for your posts!

Repeatedly on this thread I have made the statement that I would not prosecute a bigot. Please see post 339!

At most, the professor's opinion and his public announcement of it, is offensive to this student.

The professor’s problem is more than his offense to this student, he offended the first and fourteenth amendment to the Constitution!

If a professor hates hispanics, he must not post a webpage that says he will not recommend any hispanics. And a school is ill-advised to support any bigoted professor. It is an offense to Federal law. The law that protects against racial discrimination also protects against religious discrimination!

393 posted on 02/03/2003 7:52:33 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Motherbear
There are many fundamentalist Christian doctors..

Undoubtedly. But are there any creationist orthopedic surgeons? Can any one honestly claim that the back and knee, for example, were 'intelligently' designed?

394 posted on 02/03/2003 7:59:36 PM PST by Virginia-American
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To: Nebullis
What right to a letter of recommendation?

That is an imaginary right that Under the Radar asserted to debate with me. No such right exists. The rights that do exist are enumerated in the first and fourteen amendment:

First Amendment:

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 the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Fourteenth Amendment:

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.


395 posted on 02/03/2003 8:06:07 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Alamo-Girl
The professor threatened the student that he would not get a letter of recommendation, which is required for medical school, unless he disavowed his religious beliefs.

This isn't the article. The student seems not to even have asked for a letter.

396 posted on 02/03/2003 8:11:47 PM PST by Doctor Stochastic (Every minute a man dies and one and one-sixteenth is born.)
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To: Theo
Then you two believe that the Creator is bound to the Laws of Nature which He created? Is not the Creator free to do things beyond what our natural laws allow?

Absolutely. But for Him to do it as a matter of routine makes it deucedly difficult for us to use that gift He gave us--the gift to choose whether or not to follow and serve Him using our own free will...

I believe that He chose to use the natural laws He created for His own reasons, which I won't presume to judge or critique...

397 posted on 02/03/2003 8:14:33 PM PST by Poohbah (Beware the fury of a patient man -- John Dryden)
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To: Virginia-American
Can any one honestly claim that the back and knee, for example, were 'intelligently' designed?

Yes.

398 posted on 02/03/2003 8:15:49 PM PST by Kevin Curry
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To: Virginia-American
But are there any creationist orthopedic surgeons?

Perhaps you have heard of Dr. Lorraine Day? From her website:

Dr. Lorraine Day, an internationally acclaimed orthopedic trauma surgeon and best selling author was for 15 years on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine as Associate Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics. She was also Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital and is recognized world-wide as an AIDS expert.

She has been invited to lecture extensively throughout the U.S. and the world and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including 60 minutes, Nightline, CNN Crossfire, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King Live, The 700 Club, John Ankerberg Show, USA Radio Network, Art Bell Radio Show, Three Angels Broadcasting Network and Trinity Broadcasting Network.

I don't know if she is a young earth creationist, but she is swimming in the same pond.

399 posted on 02/03/2003 8:17:54 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Alamo-Girl
If either a) or c) are true then the government has a substantial interest in protecting the student's rights under the Constitution.

The student doesn't have a "right" to a letter of recommendation. This is something that the professor may or may not give. What you seem to be asking is that letters of recommendation be entitlements. Conservatives used to believe that rights were different from entitlements.

A right is the freedom to take an action. Rights to not compel others to give in to your wishes. If the government were to tell the student that he may not belive in Creationism (and threatening him with jail or death), that would be denial of a right.

400 posted on 02/03/2003 8:18:08 PM PST by Doctor Stochastic (Every minute a man dies and one and one-sixteenth is born.)
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