2008 Woodie Awards
Darwin day celebrated in N.Y.
By Lindsay Fischer
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Features
On Feb. 12, it will be the 199th anniversary in honor of the discoveries and life of Charles Darwin, the man who first described biological evolution through natural selection.
According to the dictionary, the theory of natural selection states that forms of life that have traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures such as predators, change in climate or competition for food or mates will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.
According to Matt Cherry, the executive director of the Institute of Humanist Studies, Darwin Day is to "promote the understanding of evolution and the scientific method."
He also adds "this celebration expresses gratitude for the enormous benefit that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity."
Hundreds of students and communities around the world will be celebrating the holiday. Along with hundreds of people participating, the Secular Student Alliance (SSA), an international student's organization, encourages its 112 campus affiliated groups to celebrate the holiday. The SSA is located in Albany, N.Y., and has staff in California and New York City.
The celebration first started with an event at Stanford University in 1995. The festivities for the holiday include lectures, debates, essay contests, museum exhibits, art shows and an "evolution banquet," with "primordial soup," followed appropriately by "Darwin fish fry."
Darwin Day is a project from the Albany, N.Y.-based Institute for Humanist Studies, an international, educational, nonprofit organization that promotes reason and humanity. Executive director of SSA, August E. Brunsman IV, commented, "Science should be celebrated as something that makes our lives better-just like family, love, nature, civil rights and the many other things we already celebrate."
In 2007, there were more than 850 Darwin Day celebrations. In 2008, hundreds of church congregations will celebrate this day by hosting an "Evolution Weekend" to explore the compatibility of science and religion.
According to the dictionary, the theory of natural selection states that forms of life that have traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures such as predators, change in climate or competition for food or mates will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.
According to Matt Cherry, the executive director of the Institute of Humanist Studies, Darwin Day is to "promote the understanding of evolution and the scientific method."
He also adds "this celebration expresses gratitude for the enormous benefit that scientific knowledge has contributed to the advancement of humanity."
Hundreds of students and communities around the world will be celebrating the holiday. Along with hundreds of people participating, the Secular Student Alliance (SSA), an international student's organization, encourages its 112 campus affiliated groups to celebrate the holiday. The SSA is located in Albany, N.Y., and has staff in California and New York City.
The celebration first started with an event at Stanford University in 1995. The festivities for the holiday include lectures, debates, essay contests, museum exhibits, art shows and an "evolution banquet," with "primordial soup," followed appropriately by "Darwin fish fry."
Darwin Day is a project from the Albany, N.Y.-based Institute for Humanist Studies, an international, educational, nonprofit organization that promotes reason and humanity. Executive director of SSA, August E. Brunsman IV, commented, "Science should be celebrated as something that makes our lives better-just like family, love, nature, civil rights and the many other things we already celebrate."
In 2007, there were more than 850 Darwin Day celebrations. In 2008, hundreds of church congregations will celebrate this day by hosting an "Evolution Weekend" to explore the compatibility of science and religion.
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Greg C
posted 2/12/08 @ 1:31 PM EST
Seriously! The churches are now hijacking Darwin Day to show compatibility between evolution and religion?????? I must attend one of these to see exactly how backwards things are getting. (Continued…)
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