Final arrangements are being made for four days of hearings that open Thursday on evolution, and what Kansas students should be taught about the theory.

The hearings were called by a three-member subcommittee of the
State Board of Education. The subcommittee thinks students should hear more criticism of Darwin's theory of how species originate.

Criticism is all that's expected to be heard at the hearings, which take place tomorrow through Saturday and again next Thursday. All sessions will be held in a 180 seat auditorium inside the Memorial Hall state building in Topeka.

Groups that oppose mandatory criticism of evolution are boycotting the hearings. That leaves the hearings to those who advocate
"intelligent design,'' which posits that an intelligence is the best explanation for the complexities found in nature.