September 22, 1982

In "Where Have All the Scientists Gone?" (Commentary, Aug. 25), Stephen Robinson states that scientists have been "conspicuously silent'' in the debate between scientific creationists of the religious right and the scientific community. He voices a common concern that our nation is falling prey to bible-thumping zealots whose sole mission is to put their version of man's origins in every public school in the land.

Ever since the Scopes trial, scientists, educators, and theologians have been working together to maintain scientific integrity and intellectual and spiritual freedom in the face of pressures from the religious right. Their successes have been significant; time and again, courts have ruled against efforts to have creation "science" taught in the schools. The most recent triumph was, of course, the ruling of Judge Overton in Arkansas. Invariably, scientists have offered to testify in such court cases, and have done so eloquently and persuasively.

Annie graduated from high school in June. She can milk a Holstein, put up two dozen quarts of beans, take care of a house full of small children, and run a metal lathe. She learned the first three skills growing up in a small Vermont town. She learned the last skill at the Area Vocational Center where she has spent her afternoons for the past two school years. She is the only female graduate of its Metal Trades Program. Now Annie is looking at her options.