Stand Up For Science

Stand Up For Science was a Discovery Institute intelligent design campaign [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50975 'Outrageous misinformation' on Kansas standards, Campaign responds to critics of policy to 'teach the controversy'] WorldNetDaily.com, July 8, 2006.] intended to promote the teaching of intelligent design in public high school science classes while discounting evolution.

Despite positioning this campaign as supporting - "standing up for" - science, it promotes views and methods that run counter to those accepted by the overwhelming majority of the scientific community. Acceptance of the theory of evolution is near universal by the scientific community. [] McGill University Professor of Education Brian Alters states in an article published by the NIH that "99.9 percent of scientists accept evolution", [ [http://nihrecord.od.nih.gov/pdfs/2006/07282006Record.pdf Finding the Evolution in Medicine] , Cynthia Delgado, NIH Record, National Institutes of Health, Vol. LVIII, No. 15, July 28, 2006] whereas intelligent design has been rejected by the overwhelming majority of the scientific community and every major scientific society has published statements condemning intelligent design as legitimate science. ["evolution, including common descent and natural selection, is “overwhelmingly accepted” by the scientific community and that every major scientific association agrees" Kitzmiller v. Dover.] ["Not a single expert witness over the course of the six week trial identified one major scientific association, society or organization that endorsed ID as science." Kitzmiller v. Dover.]

As of May 2008 the domain name www.standupforscience.com redirects to the Discovery Institute's Academic Freedom Petition website. [ [http://www.standupforscience.com/ Stand Up For Science - this site has been replaced ] ]

Overview

The Stand Up For Science campaign originated in July 2006 leading up to the showdown in the Kansas Board of Education that began with Kansas evolution hearings, which was also driven by the Discovery Institute. [ [http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/07/new_public_education_effort_en.html New Public Education Effort on Evolution Encourages Citizens to Stand Up For Science, Stand Up For Kansas] EvolutionNews.org, Discovery Institute. July 7 2006] The Institute's online petition and "Stand Up For Science" website where one could sign the petition were prominent features of the campaign. During the period leading up to the Kansas evolution hearings the Institute ran a number radio and print ads across Kansas incorporating many of its slogans, such as "Teach the Controversy", "Free Speech on Evolution", and "Critical Analysis of Evolution", and directing readers and listeners to the Discovery Institute website. As the Kansas debate over the teaching of evolution wound down in Fall 2006 after the conservative Republicans who approved the Critical Analysis of Evolution classroom standards lost their majority in a primary election and the moderate Republicans and Democrats vowed to overturn Discovery Institute-influenced 2005 school science standards and adopt those recommended by a State Board Science Hearing Committee that were rejected by the previous board, the Institute shifted the focus of The Stand Up For Science campaign from Kansas to Texas.

The scientific and science education communities reacted to campaign by saying that it was a misinformation campaign. Nick Matzke described the campaign's support for science as "irony-meter-busting". [ [http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2006/07/kansas_primary.html Kansas Primary Election, August 1 — Online Resources] Nick Matzke. The Panda's Thumb, July 16, 2006.] In response to the campaign Kansas biology teacher Jeremy Mohn founded the competing website, "Stand Up for REAL Science". [ [http://www.anevolvingcreation.net/standup/ Stand Up for REAL Science] ]

References