Well, maybe he didn’t literally weep. York, PA, is 20 minutes from Dover, PA, which launched the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial, concluding on December 20, 2005. Better late than never, the York Dispatch is just catching up with the 20th anniversary now. In the article by education reporter Meredith Willse, the best part is a lachrymose couple of paragraphs about a graduate of the high school that was at the center of the case.
From, “Dover intelligent design case still haunts community 20 years later”:
Current Dover Area resident Jaron Starner, a 2008 graduate, told the current school board that he recalls seeing people in monkey suits dancing outside of the high school during the trial.
“My public education was ruined by board members who pushed their ideologies onto a public institution,” he told the board as he warned them not to follow down the same path…. [Emphasis added.]
A bit melodramatic, perhaps? Attorney and geologist Casey Luskin, who was present for part of the trial, comments:
“My public education was ruined by board members who pushed their ideologies onto a public institution”?
I think what he really means is:
“My public education was ruined… because in my 9th-grade biology class I was once forced to hear a four-paragraph statement that briefly mentioned intelligent design and was told there was a book in the library I could read if I wanted to learn more.”
And don’t forget the searing trauma of seeing people dancing about in monkey costumes. Who wouldn’t be “haunted,” as Miss Willse says in the headline, by that?
By the way, Dr. Luskin discussed the case with philosopher Steve Fuller, who served as an expert witness at Dover, on an ID the Future episode today. A very interesting conversation. Find it here.