University of Idaho 'intelligent design' controversy continues

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University of Idaho 'intelligent design' controversy continues

Idaho Statesman, December 10, 2005

MOSCOW - It's been two months since University of Idaho President Tim White forbade teaching of intelligent design as part of the school's science curriculum.

Even so, White says the controversy hasn't died down: He gets at least one letter on the topic every day.

Most have been supportive, though some people feel White unfairly curbed free speech and academic freedom, he said.

White told students and staff in an Oct. 5 letter that the alternate theory of how life developed on Earth - branded as neo-creationism because of its contention that life is too complex not to have been designed by a higher power - wouldn't be tolerated as part of the school's science programs.

White said evolution is the only theory appropriate for U of I's biophysical science courses.

The prohibition, similar to restrictions in place at the University of Kansas and Cornell University in New York, doesn't limit intelligent design from being taught in social sciences or philosophy classes.

"Anytime there's this kind of public debate, it helps advance society," White said at a Thursday news conference at U of I offices in Coeur d'Alene.

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