Monday, April 10, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Berkeley professor speaks for intelligent design
By Jim O'Malley
writer @kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
University of California-Berkley law professor Phillip Johnson argued his case against evolution Friday night at 120 Budie Hall.
Johnson has written two books that criticize Darwinian evolutionary theory and argue that living things are intelligently designed by a creator. His speech was sponsored by the Aletheia Forum, a Lawrence Christian group committed to promoting the Judeo-Christian world view. Caleb Stegall, the group's president, estimated the crowd at 600.
Johnson said the State Board of Education's decision to remove macroevolution — the idea that new species evolve by genetic mutation and natural selection — from the state's science education standards had little effect in classrooms.
He argued that the media and scientific elite reacted so strongly because they were worried about a popular rebellion against the scientific world view, which he called scientific naturalism. In that world view, nature is the only thing that exists, and nature does its own creating through random, purposeless evolution, he said.
culture's creation story.
Johnson said this world view ruled out a creator God and was our
"Every culture has a creation story and a priesthood." Johnson said.
And scientists are the priests. He said that because scientists were committed to naturalism, they refused to consider the possibility that life was intelligently designed.
And Johnson argued that the evidence didn't support evolution of new species.
with aviation gasoline or cabernet sauvignon?" he asked.
He ridiculed scientists' claim that small changes in organisms added up to big changes across long periods of time by comparing evolutionary theory to a dripping bathtub. Given enough time, it will fill up with water, Johnson said.
"But how long will it take to fill up
Johnson said no middle ground could accommodate macroevolution and God.
During the question-and-answer session after the speech, Johnson said that imperfections in living things did not disprove intelligent design.
He argued that living things were so complex that they couldn't have developed without a guiding intelligence.
"Windows 95 crashes all the time, but that doesn't mean that Bill Gates does not exist," he said.
"To science, God cannot have a role in evolution," he said. "That's the official scientific position."
Asked why, if evolution ruled out
God, many biologists had religious faith, Johnson said Christian evolutionists distorted Christianity.
Johnson also was asked if he was insisting on proof rather than relying on faith.
Johnson said that intelligent design was not seeking to prove the existence of the God of the Bible but that it was seeking proof of intelligent cause.
Johnson also spoke Saturday afternoon at Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 3312 Calvin Drive, and Saturday night at Southwest Junior High School, 2511 Inverness Drive.
Johnson's speech at Southwest resembled his speech on campus,
but he said Chancellor Robert Hemenway's response to the Board's evolution decision was to call for a "campaign of indoctrination, intimidation and propaganda" to "straighten out the thinking" of people who rejected evolution.
Burt Humburg, second-year medical student at the University of Kansas Medical Center, argued with Johnson during the Southwest session. He said science didn't say nature was all there was. Instead, science is incapable of investigating the supernatural.
"Science and religion are like a tiger and a shark," he said after the speech. "Each is powerful in its own realm but helpless outside of it."
Grad student's dream works as base for fantasy film
By Cassie Holman Special to the Kansan
A KU graduate student soon will begin taping footage for a film that began as a dream more than 10 years ago.
David Gramly wrote the story and screenplay for the film he calls Amusing the Bottled Up Muse. It's an allegory about dependency and addiction, but it also is about love and romance, Gramly said.
"A lot of people get a lot of different things from the story," said the 36-year old filmmaker. "I'm reluctant to tell people what I think it means. I want the film to speak for itself."
Gramly said the story was
inspired by a nightmare he once had.
"I awoke in the dark and felt the dream had a message," he said. "I found a pencil and paper to scrawl down some lines to jog my memory in the morning. Ten years later, the dream is becoming a reality with the collaboration of over a dozen dedicated filmmakers."
The film's crew has spent extra time on preproduction after the shooting date was pushed back because of injuries Gramly suffered from a motorcycle accident last June.
Kirsten Peterson, the film's assistant producer, said a few details needed to be worked out before filming could begin.
"We have to decide on our actors and also add a few more technical crew members before we begin filming in May," Peterson said. "We are still in the stages of compiling all the necessary props, and David has just finalized the script after consulting with local filmmaker Kevin Wilmot."
Gramly said the film should be completed by June 3, in time for the KAN Film Festival, an annual festival held at the Lied Center.
Gramly is a two-time KAN prize winner. He won first prize in 1997 for a music video he shot in Bolivia for a Bolivian folk band and second prize in 1998 for a documentary titled 1955, about the 1955 World Series between the Brooklyn
Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
Amusing the Bottled Up Muse will cost about $10,000 to make, which Gramly is paying out of his own pocket. One major expense is a $3,000 monkey-like creature that is being built for the film. The creature has psychoactive powers of hypnosis in the film, Gramly said.
Using a fantasy character adds challenges to the production process.
Gramly said the process would be similar to those used for Jim Henson's Muppets. He said crew members were discussing options such as using a blue screen or a bicycle cable, which would allow for basic puppeteering.
CASTING CALL
There will be an open casting call at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at 209 Murphy Hall for the film Amusing the Bottled Up Muse.
Filmmaker David Gramly said he was looking for two men and one woman, ages 17 to early 20s. He said he also was looking for a man 50 or older.
"I'm intrigued by the way film-makers take something not real and make it a reality," Gramly said. "Film lifts information out of the
Incorporating aspects of the fantasy world is one privilege that drew Gramly to the filmmaking industry.
real world, and editing allows us to juxtapose different facets that originally wouldn't go together."
Though Gramly has finished all the required coarse work, as well as two-thirds of his thesis, he's in no hurry to leave the University.
"I feel like I'm stalling," Gramly said. "I have access to all the resources at Oldfather Studios as long as I don't graduate. I can do what my dream is. I will have to finance and provide my own equipment once I'm out in the real world."
Gramly said he was still deciding whether he should move to California or stay in Lawrence, where he would work on other scripts and teach.
Turnout, proceeds at homeless sleepout affected by Friday night's cold weather
By Jess Meyer
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
About 70 University of Kansas students and Lawrence residents took to the streets Friday night and got a bitter-cold taste of homeless life.
Jerald Zephier, a Lawrence man who's homeless, tells a group of students planning to sleep outside how being homeless has affected his life. Students spent Friday night in Burcham Park, West Third and Indiana streets, as part of Into the Streets Week. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
The homeless sleepout in Burcham Park, West Third and Indiana streets, and Saturday's volunteer day wrapped up Into the Streets Week, a community service and awareness event sponsored by the Center for Community Outreach.
Rebecca Sutherland, university relations director for the Center for Community Outreach and Andover senior, said the homeless sleepout was a traditional event held because of the power it had in the community.
"It has the ability to bring some reality to the issues of our society." Sutherland said.
Anneliese Stoever, co-coordinator of Into the Streets Week and Overland Park sophomore, said this year's sleepout, although it didn't raise as much money as organizers had hoped, was a success.
"We were just amazed with the number of people that stayed outside despite the weather," Stoever said. "They weren't complaining about it. It helped a lot of people realize that is what homeless people deal and live with every day."
Participants were asked to raise at least $10 in pledge money to be donated to the Jubilee Café, a restaurant-style kitchen that serves breakfast to homeless and people in need at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1011 Vermont St.
E. J. Reedy, co-director of the
Stoever said this year's participants raised only about $1,300—the goal was $3,000. She said the number of campers was down from last year, in part because of the cold
Center for Community Outreach and Topeka junior, said Jubilee Cafe's operation totally relied on donations. Last year's sleepout raised about $1,700.
These events also resulted in a sharp decline in participants at Saturday's volunteer day.
weather, but also because there were other events this weekend, such as family weekends at a number of fraternities and sororites.
Although Stoever said it was hard to determine exactly how many people volunteered, she said there
were fewer people than expected.
"We had good attendance throughout the week, so I wasn't too disappointed about the volunteer day." Stoever said. "I was amazed by how many people really went out into the streets to meet people and interact with children and the elderly and the poor."
Sorority spreads message of awareness with events
By Jessie Meyer
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The members of Delta Sigma Theta sorority will promote social and cultural awareness this week as they play host to Delta Week 2000.
"This is just a week of public service events designed for everyone to come out and be able to expand their minds and look at different parts of our society and relate to them," said Amber Sumler, Delta Sigma Theta member and Wichita门者.
Tiffany Williams, Kansas City, Kan. Junior, said Delta Week was an event in which each of the historically African-American sorority's chapters nationwide participated.
"We want to make sure that we keep our principals strong," Williams said. "We want to share our information with everyone."
Each daily event focuses on one of the sorority's five "thrusts" — education, economics, politics, mental health and awareness, and an international theme. Sumler said.
The week will begin and end by emphasizing the educational thrust. Sumier said there would be a book drive in the Kansas and Burge unions from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and that all books would go to local schools.
Throughout the week, there will be discussions, lectures and debates addressing issues ranging from health and fitness to the negative and positive aspects of affirmative action.
Sumler said for Friday's international event, different minority groups would bring food from their cultures to a potluck dinner.
"It's a good chance to try new things and experience a different
DELTA WEEK 2000
Today at Kansas and Burge unions from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.: Book Drive — to donate books to local schools (lasts through Friday)
Tomorrow at the Parlors Room in the Kansas Union from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Black Entrepreneur Discussion—Black entrepreneurs will discuss starting a business and the difficulties involved in keeping one running.
Wednesday at the Parlors Room in the Kansas Union from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Affirmative Action Forum — a debate whether affirmative action should be abolished.
- Thursday at the Daisy Hill Room in the Burge Union from 8 to 9:30 p.m.: Women's Weight and Wellness — a discussion of health issues that women of color face.
Friday at the Sunflower Room in the Burge Union from 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Race Races Relations Forum — cultural potluck dinner and discussion of strengthening bonds within the minority races.
culture," Sumler said. "We will talk about what we can do to strengthen bonds with the minority races, what we can do to get support for each of our programs and show that we do have a lot in common."
Williams said that in addition to the five thrusts, finding a common thread among different groups in society was the focus of the week.
"We want everyone to feel welcome and make them feel a part of the family," Williams said. "We want to emphasize that it's not only a black thing."