Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, March 31, 1999
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Group says evolution is not absolute fact
By Jennifer Roush
jrush@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A local group of citizens is concerned that the curriculum in the Lawrence public schools contradict biblical teaching.
The group, Families for Learning Accurate Theories, had its first press conference yesterday afternoon at the Lawrence Community Building to share its views with the public.
FLAT was formed in mid-March by KU professors and other concerned citizens in response to another group. Parents for Objective Science and History, which was formed in early March and holds that evolution should not be taught in schools as an absolute fact.
Adrian Melott, professor of physics and astronomy and spokesman for FLAT, said the group advocated the teaching of biblical creationism in Lawrence public schools.
Meitot said that POSH had the right idea but that the group did not go far enough because it only focused on evolution.
"they're far too timid," he said.
"They don't say what they mean.
And they aren't consistent in their use of scripture."
POSH founder Ellen Barber said she thought FLAT had misinterpreted POSH's intentions.
"POSH has a hard time taking FLAT seriously," she said. "When they can get on the same argument about objective science in the classroom being taught to our students and that there are two sides to evolution, a pro and a con, then they may deserve some attention. Meanwhile, let's hope they can figure out what 'objective' means."
According to Revelation 7:1, the earth has four corners. This is contradicted by scientific teachings, which say that the earth is round,
Melott said FLAT members would focus on three main points to which they objected in the public school curriculum—the round Earth theory, the biblical value of pi and foreign language teaching.
Philip Kimball, local fiction writer and FLAT treasurer, said the secular humanist value of pi contributed to moral, spiritual and social decay.
Melott said.
"Pi is now taught to be 3.14, which is an irrational number," Kimball said. "That implies that God's creation is irrational, which leads to moral corrosion."
the Bible, in I Kings 7:23, puts the value of pi at 3. FLAT plans a demonstration at 2 p.m. on April 3 at South Park to prove the Biblical value of pi.
Melott said that the last objection FLAT had to the local public school curriculum was the teaching of foreign languages.
He said that FLAT's position on foreign language teaching was based on the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, in which God punished the human race for its arrogance by creating different languages so people wouldn't be able to communicate with one another.
Melott said FLAT had not yet discussed what would be done with textbooks the group considered objectionable, but he thought that those books should be removed from public schools.
Kimball, however, said the group would not endorse book banning.
"There's no need to ban books," Kimbala said. "The truth will get out. The Bible will win in the free marketplace of ideas."
The group will continue to speak until after the Lawrence school board elections are finished, Melott said. He also said that FLAT would endorse candidates for the school board who were willing to adopt the group's views. The group also will make a presentation at the first school board meeting after the election.
Melott said he did not see a conflict between his membership in FLAT and his job at the University because he was not speaking on behalf of the University.
"Some people will like it, and others won't," Melott said. "Part of the function of a University is controversy. We want to get people thinking about this issue."
- Edited by Keith Burner
Capturing attention
Amy Brozenic and Amy Knotter, Kansas City, Kan., sophomores; Colleen Mathis, Leavenworth junior; and Tara Schram, Overland Park sophomore, inform students about Capture the Flag. The group is promoting the activity to help raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Photo by Joseph Griffin/KANSAN
University to conduct health center surveys
By Allan Davis
Special to the Kansan
A KU project is giving mental health consumers a role in formulating policy by hiring them to collect needed data.
The Office of Social Policy Analysis, which is a part of the School of Social Welfare, is conducting a consumer satisfaction survey to determine how well community mental health centers are meeting consumer needs. Kansas consumer-run organizations have a leading role in the data-collecting process.
OSPA performs research and analysis and makes policy recommendations for Kansas legislators and agencies.
The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Commission, a part of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, contracted with OSPA to conduct a consumer-aided survey evaluating the performance of mental-health centers.
"The whole notion is to have consumers talking to consumers and get a better, more honest assessment of how they view their services," said Terry Larson, executive director of the NAMI Kansas, formerly the Kansas Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Larson also is a member of the Consumer Satisfaction Advisory Committee, which assisted in the development of the project's design.
Recommendations resulting from the survey may influence state policies regarding mental-health centers and their programs.
"We primarily have gotten contracts from the state, mostly from SRS, to do studies for them about potential policies," said Linda Zebley, the survey project coordinator. "A lot of our work has been from MHDD because the school has historically done a lot of work in the mental-health field, and we have a pretty good reputation for having people with expertise."
OSPA devised the survey instrument and performed the pilot test. The draft survey was then given, via the 27 mental health centers, to more than 900 consumers.
"They did it that way and got a lot of good data." Zebley said.
- Edited by Liz Wristen
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