On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 06:07:15 +0000 (UTC), Jason Spaceman
<notreally@jspaceman.homelinux.org>, Message ID:
<2c3r30djhv0bgf74tkvvacc0g0uqbpcgae@4ax.com> wrote in alt.atheism;

http://www.ravallinews.com/articles/2004/02/26/news/news01.txt

Objecting to 'origins':
Darby student protest highlights concern over new policy
By JENNY JOHNSON Staff Reporter

After the Darby School Board Tuesday made another move in the process of
adopting an objective origins policy, students came out to express their
opposition.

About one-third of the high school's 170 students Wednesday walked out
of school 15 minutes before the bell rang and assembled between U.S. 93
and school property in protest of the school board's decisions to
question evolution.

Carrying signs criticizing the newly adopted policy, students walked the
sidewalk and drew honks and yells from passers-by hoping school
officials and trustees would take heed.

"Students really care what's going on in the school," said senior Aaron
Lebowitz, who organized the protest. "(The school board) has been on
their own track and haven't really listened to us."

Students were joined by one teacher and a handful of community members
in their protest.

"The verbalization to the public has been from the school board but not
the students and teachers," high school teacher Nathan Mentzer said.

Nearly 40 Darby High School students got permission from their parents
to check out of school early and walked out expressing discontent of
school board actions.

Trustees last month adopted a policy that calls for teachers to question
evolution. The policy was brought to the board based on the idea to
teach intelligent design theory - a biological origins theory that
assumes there is a designer of the biological world but stops short of
saying who or what that designer is.

Critics claim the theory is a guise to introduce creation science in the
classroom.

"Over the past few weeks, students have discussed the issue at length
and formed opinions about intelligent design," Lebowitz said.

One sign read, "Creationism in a cheap tuxedo." And others called on
people to go to church for creationism.

Lebowitz walked down the row of students asking individuals why they
were there. Students strongly voiced concern about creationism being in
science class and encouraged people to vote in the upcoming school board
election.

Currently, students touch on evolution in life science class in seventh
grade and then again in 10th-grade biology.

"But evolution is not shoved down our throats," he said. "I was pretty
disturbed by the ignorance of our community about what we're really
being taught."

Lebowitz carried a sign that read, "Strike against preaching pseudo
science," and said he would have taken the risk of disciplinary action
if his parents didn't let him check out of school.

After Tuesday's meeting Lebowitz and others made signs for the protest
Wednesday. Two hours into the meeting, a flyer circulated calling for
people to show up to oppose the objective origins policy. And show up
they did.

Besides most of the high school student body, parents and community
members came to the elementary parking lot in support of the protest and
shared information.


Copyright 2004 Ravalli Republic.