This article is: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1371848
April 18, 2002, 10:48AM
DeLay's college advice Don't send your kids to Baylor or A&M By RON NISSIMOV Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, one of the nation's most powerful politicians, has this advice for some conservative Christian parents: Don't let your babies go to Texas A&M or Baylor universities.
DeLay, R-Sugar Land, urged his audience of about 300 people at Pearland's First Baptist Church Friday night to pressure state legislators to "throw the P.C. out and bring God in" at Texas' public universities.
According to a tape recording made without DeLay's knowledge, the House majority whip criticized the two universities after an audience member asked him for advice on where to send children to college.
The questioner lamented that creationism is not taught at major Texas universities, even though, he said, "here in Texas, primarily it's conservative compared to the rest of the world."
"Don't send your kids to Baylor," said DeLay, a 1970 graduate of the University of Houston.
"And don't send your kids to A&M," he continued to loud applause. "There are still some Christian schools out there -- good, solid schools. Now, they may be little, they may not be as prestigious as Stanford, but your kids will get a good, solid, godly education."
DeLay presumably focused on A&M and Baylor because they are generally regarded as two of the most conservative universities in the state, and they draw many students from predominantly white suburban areas.
Shortly after the killing of 12 teen-agers at Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999, DeLay sarcastically opined on the cultural conditions that could have led to the massacre:
"It couldn't have been because our school systems teach our children that they are nothing but glorified apes who have evolutionized out of some primordial soup of mud, by teaching evolution as fact."
At Friday's gathering, DeLay said his daughter attended A&M and was appalled to discover that students have sex in dormitories.
"Texas A&M used to be a conservative university," he said. "It's lost all of its conservatism, and it's renounced its traditions. It's really sad. My daughter went there, you know, she had horrible experiences with coed dorms and guys who spent the weekends in the rooms with girls, and all this kind of stuff went on there. It's just unbelievable."
A transcript of the tape was supplied to the Chronicle by the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The transcript was verified to be accurate after the tape was played for the Chronicle.
"As a major player in American politics, Mr. DeLay seems to be willing to even undercut what are recognized as high-quality universities just to push his religious agenda, which includes his opposition to evolution," said Barry Lynn, director of the nonprofit group.
"Teaching about God in private universities is fine, but to think you can introduce religious doctrine in state universities is a clear violation of the principle of separation of church and state."
Spokesman Jonathan Grella said DeLay was only advising parents who want their children to be taught creationism in college what their options might be.
"He stated if you want your kids to get a Christian education, you don't have to send them there (A&M or Baylor)," Grella said.
He said DeLay believes that the doctrine of separation of church and state "did not intend prohibiting religion from playing a role in the state."
Grella chastised the person who "underhandedly brought a tape recorder into the First Baptist Church looking for trouble," and noted that Lynn is a "former member of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)."
Lynn's organization is "further left than Hillary Clinton," said Grella.
A&M spokeswoman Cindy Lawson said DeLay's daughter Danielle graduated from A&M in 1995. Lawson declined further comment other than to say most students and graduates are satisfied with their experience at the College Station campus.
Baylor spokesman Larry Brumley said DeLay should visit the private Baptist university in Waco before criticizing it.
"We are extending an invitation to Mr. DeLay to visit the campus and see first-hand the nature of this university, its students, faculty and staff," Brumley said in a written statement.
"I believe he will find an institution, as stated in our recently adopted 10-year vision, that is seeking to enter the top tier of American universities while reaffirming and deepening its distinctive Christian mission."
Many science professors at Baylor were outraged that in 1999 it became the nation's first university to create a center to investigate "intelligent design," a theory that hypothesizes that an intelligent "agent" such as God directly guided evolution.
The center's former director, William Dembski, was demoted in October 2000 after accusing his critics of engaging in "intellectual McCarthyism," but he continues to research the topic.
"Apparently Congressman DeLay's perceptions of Baylor have been influenced by people who are uninformed or misinformed about the Christian character and mission of Baylor University," Brumley wrote.
-- John K. Taber
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