"The Honolulu Advertiser"
Friday, August 3, 2001

Board votes against creationism in school

By Jennifer Hiller and Jessica Webster
Advertiser Staff Writers

After more than three hours of debate, the Board of Education voted
unanimously last night to keep evolution as the only theory of origin
taught in Hawai'i classrooms. More than 100 people signed up to speak at
the meeting -- but only 55 of them addressed the board members.

At times, Darwin stickers and theatrics dominated the discussion. People
overflowed into the hallways where speakers projected the sounds of the
debate.
More than 200 people turned out for the meeting. Most of the those lining
the hallway at the Queen Lili'uokalani Building downtown said they didn't
want to see creationism taught alongside evolution in science courses in
Hawai'i's public schools.

The Board of Education was considering allowing multiple theories of
origin besides evolution to be taught in the classroom. Evolution is the basic
theory used in Hawai'i to teach the life sciences to students in
kindergarten through 12th grade.

Hawaii State Teachers Association president Karen Ginoza said both
theories -- evolution and creationism -- have a place in schools, but evolution
should be taught in science and creation should be taught in literature,
social studies or history classes.

"There is a place, but not in science," she said.

Prior to public testimony, board member Denise Matsumoto, who has been
considered the driver of these plans, made clear that she did not steer
the issue.

"I did not act alone ... the committee voted," she said. "But the
committee never intended for creationism to be taught."

The proposed change in policy does not mention the word "creationism," but
Matsumoto had offered "creationism" as a competing theory to evolution
last week.

Some people present last night toted the Bible and books on creation.
Others carried Darwin, science textbooks and theories of relativism. Many
wore "Darwin" stickers, and science-praising T-shirts.

And those representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i and
the Hawai'i Citizens for Separation of State and Church, swapped ideas
about possible legal action should the board change the policy.

Several creationism supporters said they felt silenced by the
evolutionists, and Matsumoto was disparaged in low-tone mumbling.

Mililani science teacher Sandy Ingraham, who stood clutching two life and
earth science textbooks, emphasized that evolution and creationism
shouldn't be saddled together.

"I'm a Christian," she said. "I go to church to practice my faith and I
get up every morning to teach science. And I know the difference."

Ingraham said there are "practical" reasons for teaching evolution, and
she wants her students to understand the necessity of saving endangered
species and fighting resistant bacteria.

But computer scientist and Christian minister Robart Morgan said all he
wants is fair space for his perspective. He said he is aghast at the way
creationists have been portrayed in the media.

"What happened to a free exchange of ideas?" Morgan said. "There is a lot
of unfair and unwarranted criticism of creationists, and they deserve
respect for their viewpoints. There's a lot of good and bad science out
there. I'm just tired of all the evolutionists chortling at the
creationists, calling it bad science."

William Geyman, who calls himself a student of Biblical prophecy, said the
"slant and bias" are always toward the theory of evolution.

"I personally feel evolution is a false theory for a variety of reasons,
and I would like to see creationism offered as a viable body of
knowledge," he said. "I'm not sure what form it ought to be in, and it does require
some faith. But so does evolution."

In one dramatic display, Jody Haworth pulled out $5,000 in cash to make
his point, and said anyone who could prove molecular evolution by creating a
living cell out of dead matter could have the money.

The issue of evolution versus creationism pits the theory that living
things evolved from earlier species against the biblical theory that God
created humans essentially in their present forms. Although it is hotly
debated in some areas on the Mainland, the issue has not been dealt with
in schools in Hawai'i until now.

The board office was deluged with phone calls all week about the proposal.
University of Hawai'i science faculty members fired off letters and
organized petitions against the proposal, and the Hawai'i Citizens for the
Separation of State and Church promised a federal lawsuit if the board
approved the new language.

A packet of e-mails, letters and faxed testimony greeted board members
before the meeting.

The Department of Education's science adviser and other science teachers
were not consulted about the possible change in policy.

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools
cannot teach creationism, and the National Academy of Sciences calls
evolution the most important theory in modern biology, and urges schools
to teach it.

The debate over teaching evolution and creationism is as old as the 1859
publication of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species," which stated that
species arise and develop through the natural selection of inherited
variations that increase the individual's ability to survive and
reproduce.

As recently as 1999, a national debate on the issue centered on Kansas
when education officials there voted to stop teaching the theory of evolution
altogether, as well as the "Big Bang" and all references to the age of the
Earth.