Re: Cornell

There is so much discussion of creationism and intelligent design, etc. on
the radio talk shows and in the letters to the editors of newspapers, and
the comments on both sides usually bother me. I don't think very many of
the general public know the difference between the generic meanings of
creationism and intelligent design and the use of these terms by those who
are pushing particular versions. It really makes it difficult to discuss
these with the average person and get across that we believe in creation
and intelligent design without necessarily agreeing with everyone who is
pushing for what they call creationism or intelligent design. If we could
just educate the public as to what is really happening, there might be a
more intelligent discussion.

I am especially interested in following what is happening at Cornell.
Cornell was my graduate school. I also have some curiosity about seeing
how Hunter Rawlings is getting involved. Hunter was at one time a classics
professor here at the University of Colorado. His seat at the concert
series was next to mine, and I marveled that he didn't seem to be bothered
by having to fit his six-foot-seven-inch frame into a seat with very
little leg room. I never knew enough about him to predict his role in the
sort of controversies that we have now.

Gordon Brown
Department of Mathematics
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0395

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005, Randy Isaac wrote:

> Last weekend, interim president Rowlings of Cornell gave a speech to the trustees that identified ID as " "a matter of great significance to Cornell and to this country as a whole … a matter … so urgent that I felt it imperative to take it on for this State of the University address." The packed auditorium gave Rawlings a lengthy standing ovation at the conclusion of his address. "
>
> Read more at
> http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct05/State.Univ.05.ssl.html
>
> I just talked with Karl Johnson, head of the Chesterton House at Cornell http://www.chestertonhouse.org/. He says the whole campus is talking about the issue. It's a great opportunity for ASA to provide a forum for discussion. I'm sure other campuses will do the same. The key question is, what do we as ASA have to offer as a resource? We are somewhat dependent on the specific people on each campus but perhaps we can also offer a broader range of resources for the dialog. We should be able to provide support to the local organizations like Chesterton House.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Randy
>
Received on Sat Oct 29 19:13:22 2005