Roundup photos

Why did The Daily Texan feel the need to associate a story about “Roundup crime rates” (which should have been called “Roundup crime rates drop”), with a picture of the Sigma Phi Epsilon party? Clearly, this was just a stunt to get people to read the article while further stereotyping the much-maligned Greek community. It would have been better to take a picture of all the “not crime” or even philanthropy events.

— Austin Shields
Finance and chemical engineering senior

Question intelligent design

I take serious issue with Mr. Francia’s column, and I believe every thinking student at this University should do the same.

I must insist that the scientific process is not one defined by human arrogance, the belief that we are always right, but rather by the notion that, through careful study of the natural world, we may come to more fully understand it. The confusion in the evolution debate that regards evolution as “just a theory” perfectly captures this idea. Scientists are very cautious with the word “fact,” though few concepts in science deserve that approbation more than evolution by natural selection. The very terminology of scientific discourse reflects a certain willingness to question even established dogma. Humility, not arrogance, is at the core of the scientific process.

But I cannot accept that we should be so humble as to assume that we cannot understand the world we live in. If the past several hundred years of human history are any indication, we most certainly can. We do not need to accept the inevitability of human disease or starvation. But advancing human knowledge on these fronts requires constant questioning, not the implicit complacency of creationism and intelligent design, which provide answers without explanations. We are asked to simply believe.

Accepting evolution does not preclude a belief in God, and I am happy to agree with Francia on this point. I will heartily concede that there are many things we do not understand. But our response must not be to throw up our hands and marvel at our ignorance. Human reasoning may be flawed, but it has produced some undeniably good things. And that is a tradition worth preserving.

— Matthew Daley
Biology senior