Fredric Rice said "Occultism in school" to Don Martin, adding:

FR> Obviously Satan (er, I mean Dr. Higgins) is LYING: George, being
FR> a man of god, would not lie or be grossly mistaken over something
FR> so important and readily verifiable if true. Right?

DM> I continue to await your details about the course:
DM> professor, year, semester or quarter, title, level--all the
DM> things that will help a registrar pinpoint the identity of
DM> the mysterious TA who "taught" it.

FR> Did you ever get a valid reply from George on this? I missed
FR> any response from him on the issue.

From the archive:

George Harper said "Scientific Proof Availabl" to Don Martin, adding:

DM> By the way, I continue to look for your details on just
DM> when you took that course in which the TA stood in for the
DM> sabbaticating professor. Lack of same will prompt me to suppose
DM> that your TA is a

GH> I took the course at Metropolitan State College in the spring
GH> semester of 1978.

That _was_ the one in Denver?

GH> It was an introductory level course, but fitted my schedule so
GH> that I could complete the science requirements for my
GH> Bachelor's degree in Applied Sciences in time to graduate that
GH> semester.

And the _name_ of this introductory level course? Was it offered by the Geology Department?

GH> It was a 1 credit class...I had more than enough credits for my
GH> major, just needed a science credit...and, if memory serves,
GH> his first name was Richard...

GH> Since I have agreed with Dr. Phillips evaluation of the
GH> information I cited, I fail to see the purpose of further
GH> flagellating a dead horse, unless of course, you have no other
GH> victories to boast of, yet don't want to go out of the
GH> limelight.

Who is Dr. Phillips? And apart from an interest in establishing that you actually _did_ take such a course, once I have all the information, I shall be in contact with the college regarding the incident, in an effort to track down this bozo TA. At this point, it has nothing whatsoever to do with you, painful though that prospect may be to your sensibilities. I have a deep and abiding concern for the state of education in this country, and an interest in teachers spewing bullshit to students incapable of distinguishing it from reality. Whether that bullshit is "geological evidence for the Flood" or "Ebonics is genetically caused" makes no difference to me.

You may perhaps recall this from me a day or so ago:

GH> I took the course at Metropolitan State College in the
GH> spring semester of 1978. It was an introductory level
GH> course, but fitted my schedule so that I could complete
GH> the science requirements for my Bachelor's degree in
GH> Applied Sciences in time to graduate that semester.

GH> It was a 1 credit class...I had more than enough
GH> credits for my major, just needed a science
GH> credit...and, if memory serves, his first name was
GH> Richard...

I am in the process of pinning down one of your graduates regarding a course he took in 1978, a 1-hour intro course in geology, normally taught by a professor whose first name was Richard and whose duties were taken over by a TA that spring.

The context of the discussion is that your graduate has gone around for nearly two decades believing that geologic evidence for the Biblical Flood exists and is on file in the archives of the Colorado School of Mines. He was told this as part of the TA's course instruction.

Is there anyone there interested in running such remote trivia to earth? I would like to identify the TA, contact him, and ask him about these archival holdings (of which Jerry Higgins of CSM is, not surprisingly, unaware). As a former teacher, I dislike seeing students bamboozled.

In the company of Curtis Johnson, I opened my email this morning to find a reply:

Date: Friday, April 18, 1997 9:52AM

Read your message. None of our faculty members remember any Professor whose name was Richard. We also do not have any TA"s. Metro is a four-year undergraduate college with 17,000 students and we do not have a graduate school complete with teaching assistants. We also do not and have not had a one-hour intro course in geology. Our intro courses are four hours credit and are always taught by professors and never by students.

We do not teach and have never taught Creation Science. Also, as a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, I can assure you that Mines does not have any "geological evidence for the Biblical Flood." They would not waste their time on such foolishness.

Frankly, we do not know what this student is talking about. Nothing he has said seems to make sense.

Andrew M. Taylor, Ph.D.

Well, it would appear your fame is spreading. "Nothing he has said seems to make sense," pretty much covers it, so far as your credibility is concerned.

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