As a graduate student nearing the completion of my
Masters program at Towson University in Maryland, as well as an Eagle
Scout, I am appalled to learn of the systematic violation of students'
rights at Vassar College. These rights are clearly protected by the free
exercise clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion,
nor abridging the free exercise thereof." The U.S. Supreme Court has
explicitly held that a religion need not strictly adhere to the dictates
of an organized coalition, but may equally be defined by an individual.
Whether or not a student identifies her/himself as a member of an
organized religion, her/his sincerely held moral, ethical or religious
beliefs are protected by the aforementioned clause, thereby mandating
that every academic institution in the U.S. respect this personal belief
system. It behooves Vassar College as an institution of higher learning
to honor the moral convictions of the students who pay their tuition to
attend your school, and pay your salaries. Private institutions are
equally responsible for adhering to students' civil liberties so long as
they receive any public funding. How can you call your school a
"liberal" institution while unconstitutionally requiring them to dissect
and vivisect animals in Biology and Psychology classes?
Students enroll in college to learn how to think
critically, not to be indoctrinated into archaic and fraudulent rituals,
disguised as mandatory methodology. If your institution is worthy of any
respect and tuition funds, you have no justification for an
"all-or-nothing" approach. College should not be a fascist dictatorship
where we march in lockstep to our authority's every command. So-called
"alternatives" to academic dissection and vivisection have been widely
available for many years. The Ethical Science Education Coalition in
Boston, Massachusetts, publishes a thick catalogue with hundreds of
practical, comprehensive replacements for the traditional "death
science" approach. Biology is the science of life, not death. The time
is long overdue for Vassar College and other similar institutions to
understand this simple fact.
Had I been presented some of these alternatives as an
undergraduate student at Hofstra University 6 years ago (as well as in
high school), I conceivably would have performed far better in my
laboratory exercises than I did, since biology was always my strongest
natural science discipline. My entire set of career choices would have
been different, as I may have gone to medical school thereafter, rather
than pursuing a liberal arts program. How many more compassionate,
gifted students must sacrifice the opportunity to pursue a life-saving
occupation, in the true tradition of the Hippocratic oath, simply
because their schools force them to violate their own sincerely held
moral, religious or ethical beliefs? Students must not be coerced to
learn material by exploiting animals. "Alternatives" are generally less
expensive, more time-efficient, and more humane. Vassar College must
adopt a choice policy for dissection and vivisection now, lest you
continue to violate the U.S. Constitution by infringing on the free
exercise clause. Conscientious objection is no less relevant to killing
other species than to humans.
David L. Fishman, M.A. Candidate
Towson University
Lifetime Member
National Eagle Scout Association
Source:
[email protected]
Go on to Replacing
School Hatching Projects
Return to 10 May 2000 Issue
Return to Newsletters
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been
specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this
not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the
copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your
own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.