Dr. Michael Dini is serious about education. Dr. Dini is a professor at Texas Tech University and teaches biology. Texas Tech University is in Lubbock, Texas and has 29,000 students. Dr. Dini has a reputation of teaching a solid curriculum and doesn’t provide a pablum pass’em environment. He also is liked by his students, because they recognize his passion for biology and teaching.
Dr. Dini was the target of an attack by a right wing religious group and was investigated by the the Justice Department. Dr. Dini receives requests for letters of recommendation from graduate students that are submitting applications to medical school. Dr. Dini has a few simple requirements of students that they must meet before he will write a letter of recommendation.
One of the requirements is that the student must answer scientifically “how the human species originated”. Dr. Dini will not write a letter of recommendation if the student’s answer is creationism. Dr. Dini explains that he doesn’t want to send someone to medical school if they don’t have a solid belief in modern science and that evolution is one of the most basic facts of the science of biology.
This is sound logic. If someone wants to attend a university that dismisses science and teaches creationism, there are plenty of theology schools. For example, these students should consider Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. But, if a student wants to attend a university of higher learning with emphasis on modern science, then that student should attend a school like Texas Tech University. This is the kind of school that I want to send my son or daughter to.
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The Lubbock Police Department has been engaged in a “crack-down” on Texas Tech students for underage drinking and partying. The problem is not the idea, but the tactics. Many of the tactics they are using are dubious. There are instances where the police issued citations to all the students at a party without first checking and verifying that they were drinking alcoholic beverages. This practice is so well known by students that there are also reports of a group of students that staged a keg party, but the keg was full of non-alcoholic beverage, and as the students expected the police came and issued citations to all the students. There are also reports of police arresting students on campus while walking to their dorm when a designated driver drove them back to the campus. There are also reports of dubious police practices such as asking a student to step outside and then arresting the student. There is also the reverse story, that the police asked a student to step inside the house where there was a party and then issued the student a citation. These police actions are abusive and violate the intent of the U.S. Constitution.
