Professor's Snub of Creationists Prompts U.S. Inquiry

New York Times ^ | 2/02/03 | NICK MADIGAN

[kattracks]

UBBOCK, 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.

[steve-b]

The question is whether or not one could prove that a creationist's beliefs would negatively affect his performance as a medical student and later as a physician.

Irrelevant. An abortionist can remove a splinter or lance a boil as effectively as a pro-life doctor -- but I would expect a professor at a Catholic teaching hospital to refuse to write a letter of recommendation for the former.

[Catspaw]

I would've

Make that "I wouldn't have"

[Alamo-Girl]

In your post #6, you said:

I should add that if a physics student asked me for a letter of recommendation, and it was known to me that the student believed the universe to be 6000 years old, I could not in good conscience give that student a good recommendation...unless, of course, the student could convince me of that also.

What would you do with me? I believe the universe is 15.875 billion years old (approx) from our space/time coordinates and at the same time that it is 7 days old from God's inception space/time coordinates plus 5763 years from our space/time coordinates (the Adamic age, based on the Jewish calendar.) My conclusions are based on the inflationary model, relativity and the Word of God.

[balrog666]

You know what the net result of this is going to be: nobody at Texas Tech--at least in the biology department, and possibly the entire science department--is going to get a letter of recommendation. If this is pushed, professors are going to refuse to write letters of recommendation en masse because they're afraid of litigation.

They should start that now and do it until the "investigation" slinks away.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Since the student still can choose, there may not be a sustainable legal issue. If the student couldn't choose, there would definitely be an issue. But again there's Federal funding which brings a whole nother factor to the matter. Note that it's gotten Federal attention. Ashcroft doesn't undertake stuff like this lightly.

[PatrickHenry]

Ashcroft doesn't undertake stuff like this lightly.

That's right. I predict that the "complaint" will go nowhere, precisely because the Justice Department will not participate in a frivolous claim. A letter of complaint has been filed, and it will be looked at, as are all such letters. A junior lawyer will write a memo. A decision will be made by his superiors in the civil rights division about the merits of the complaint, whether it justifies further action. Then they will write a response to the effect that they decline to get involved.

[Catspaw]

I'm sure the Justice department doesn't take this lightly. Neither will the professors, who will, no doubt, refuse to write letters of recommendation for students until this matter is cleared up.

What you seem to be saying, or this student seems to be saying, is that the school--or at least this professor--has to teach creationism as science, rather than evolution, and be graded differently than the rest of the class or student body who are being taught evolution--and that this student can define curriculum for the rest of the class or student body. If that's the case, why doesn't this student take a class in which creationism counts towards a science/biology credit or transfer to a school in which creationism is the biology course?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Their belief in creationism in no-way compromises their integrity as a doctor.

This is QUITE true. As far as applicability to the medical field is concerned, evolutionary doctrines of origins are still all show and no go. AFAIK, nobody has demonstrated evolution producing one new species of germ in real time, and germs are about as good an example as you can get if you absolutely had to evolve something new because the math most favors it. All we can demonstrate with evolution are new traits in old species of germs.

[AndrewC]

The professor is not discriminating based on "religious beliefs" -- he is discriminating based on rejection of a basic foundation stone of the biological sciences.

He is discriminating on belief not knowledge.

If you set up an appointment to discuss the writing of a letter of recommendation, I will ask you: "How do you think the human species originated?" If you cannot truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer to this question, then you should not seek my recommendation for admittance to further education in the biomedical sciences.

He doesn't use the words "correctly" and "adequately". He uses "truthfully" and "forthrightly".

[TightSqueeze]

Ashcroft doesn't undertake stuff like this lightly.

Hell, I can't wait for the churches to finally become federalized, then there will be no friggin' ambiguity. Once and for all we will be told just what to believe in, pure and simple. One church, one faith one god, you are either with us or you are a terrorist. Thank god for GWB, the way, truth and light!

[HiTech RedNeck]

What you seem to be saying, or this student seems to be saying, is that the school--or at least this professor--has to teach creationism as science

No, silly. He can teach "evolution" (meaning evolutionary theory of origins of species) until he's blue in the face, and require that students demonstrate knowledge of all the rationale and theory. Just like a professor in the religion department can teach "Judaism" or "Catholicism" or "Hinduism" or what have you. But if getting Federal dollars he can't exercise his duties in a religiously discriminatory way; he has to leave it open to the student whether to profess this kind of "evolution" as personal belief.

[bondserv]

But if professor’s wish to force students to think only "inside the box" in science or medicine we have bigger problems in our education facilities than you may believe. A student that has a different interpretation of the facts and wishes to persue that line of investigation, should be welcomed in our individualistic society. Communism failed.

If a student can memorize and regurgitate the materials presented by the professor with a high enough degree of accuracy, the student should receive a recommendation on their merits.

But if professors begin to believe they have a right to dictate how the student subsequently uses that knowledge in their practice, or their potential new employer round files the students resume because it lacks a Letter of Recommendation from the professor of the students major, we would be giving our conservative job futures into the hands of a bunch of liberals.

Intelligent design by a Creator is not completely without merit. Evolution is a best guess theory that cannot explain many facts that are observable. i.e. A spider has oil glands in its legs that allow it to walk on the sticky substance coating its web. Either its web couldn't catch a thing (lacking sticky substance) while the spider evoluted oil glands on its legs or the spider got trapped by its web but was infected by the evoluted oil gland virus, spontaneously enabling it to escape.

If professors force students to ignore these problems in order to receive letters of recommendation God help this world. Mastering a professor’s material should be the only criteria for recommending the student.

[Catspaw]

No, silly. He can teach "evolution" (meaning evolutionary theory of origins of species) until he's blue in the face, and require that students demonstrate knowledge of all the rationale and theory. Just like a professor in the religion department can teach "Judaism" or "Catholicism" or "Hinduism" or what have you. But if getting Federal dollars he can't exercise his duties in a religiously discriminatory way; he has to leave it open to the student whether to profess this kind of "evolution" as personal belief.

So if he taught only creationism and refused to write letters of recommendation (to students who had actually taken his class, that is) to students who believe in evolution, that would not have been discriminatory?

This is what the student said:

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."

What Mr. Spradling seems to be saying this that he couldn't have taken this class because it was a "den[ial] of his faith as a Christian." I wonder if Spradling had taken other science classes, if he plans on taking more, and will he sue if his religious beliefs come in conflict with science?

[HiTech RedNeck]

You'll probably get jumped on for the spider example as many features can be posited to have served some other purpose in earlier iterations. The problem comes when you look at the math involved in the "arrival of the fittest." Natural selection can do survival of the fittest just fine, but it can't generate a single more fit organism, nor will it be merciful to the millions of unfit that have to be simultaneously generated with the more fit organism if this factor is truly driven by random mutations (duplications, what have you).

[PatrickHenry]

This is a link to the Department of Justice's website, which gives the criteria for their interest in educational descrimination. To me, it doesn't look like the creationist student has a prayer:
Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section.

[Nebullis]

Mr. Spradling said he sat in on two sessions of Dr. Dini's introductory biology class...

He decided ahead of time that nothing Dini could teach him would change his mind. He's a typical close-minded creationist.

[Nebullis]

Having said this, the recommendation should not ever comment on anything except whether the student mastered the course material and avoided committing any obvious felonies.

That's what grades are for. Recommendations go beyond that or they would be of no use whatsoever.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It would be a colossal waste of his time for the student to try to earn credentials for a graduate career through that particular professor, if he can't or won't utter the concomitant personal belief. That is what goes beyond the pale. Agreed that the circumstances don't make for the strongest legal case.

At the college level, there's nothing keeping him from teaching a theory of creationism if he wishes, but since most people calling themselves scientists profess some kind of evolutionary origins then he needs also to teach a theory of evolutionary origins so the student will understand that kind of biology.

[Physicist]

A student that has a different interpretation of the facts and wishes to persue that line of investigation, should be welcomed in our individualistic society.

You are employing the same logic as the liberals who are against the teaching of spelling, or who believe that there are no wrong answers in arithmetic.

Sorry, but evolution is basic biology, just as the fact of an ancient, expanding universe is basic cosmology. You cannot substitute your feelings for science and expect scientists to accept that as equally valid.

Suppose a math student asked for a recommendation from a professor, after insisting that pi=3, based on his interpretation of the Bible? Should he be "forced" to "think inside the box"? Or should the professor be compelled to ratify his choice, by being required by law to sign his name to a statement he doesn't believe, praising the student's grasp of mathematics? Was Galileo required to do much more than this?

[HiTech RedNeck]

"nor will it be merciful to the millions of unfit that have to be simultaneously generated with the more fit organism if this factor is truly driven by random mutations (duplications, what have you)."

(Meaning by this, the species is going to overwhelmingly far more likely drive itself into the ground. Go extinct. Bye bye. SO much so, that it would be surprising that any life exists at all if it had to have this kind of origin.)