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Page 11
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encourage more stem cell research
ince Thanksgiving morning
in 1999, 12-year-old Katy
Lyon has awoken to a shot.
Her days are carefully monitored.
She was an active, young girl,
showing no signs
of illness until
the age of 11.
Then her parents
began to notice a
severe drop in
weight, accompa
nied by com
plaints of fatigue
and stomach
pain.
Thanksgiving morning, the Lyons
ngth as sheflfound their daughter lying in bed
on the edge of consciousness.
She was very listless and
jarely able to lift her arms,” said
isper thingsitii Maureen Lyon. “We rushed her to
the doctor, where he ran a blood
test and immediately sent her to
the hospital.” Hours later, the
Lyon’s would find out that their
daughter, like almost one million
other American youths, had nearly
lapsed into a coma caused by
juvenile diabetes. Katy’s case has
a happier ending than many. Now
she enjoys an active life at Cain
Middle school in Rockwall, Texas.
The only hindrances to Katy’s
ly to these ci
n them for aiii
them and
needed a
said. “It mi
1 it was definii:
everyone as sot
Til ity. No nut
pursue. hoW«
e education
k
activities are the glucometer and
insulin that she must have avail
able at all times. However, prom
ising new technology is now on
the horizon that could potentially
cure juvenile diabetes and many
.other illnesses, including
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s
disease and spinal cord traumas.
Now, great benefits from stem
cell research are within our grasp.j
The key lie's in tiny cells formed
inside a human embryo after about
the sixth day of development.
These cells are
extracted and put
in a Petri dish
where they repli
cate, a process
that destroys the
embryo. These
cells, called stem cells, harbor «o
much potential because they have
the ability to develop into any of
the more than 200 types of tissue
found in the human body.
Stem cell research should be
explored to its fullest extent.
Many organs lack the ability to
regenerate themselves after sus
taining an injury, and stem cells
potentially could be used to grow
entire replacement organs or
repair damaged ones. This new
Stem cell research
should be explored to
its fullest extent.
breakthrough is seen by many as
the greatest step in medical history
since antibiotics. President George
W. Bush recently made a decision
to federally fund research on 60
stem cell lines available from dif
ferent labs. This decision was one
of the most important of Bush’s
young administration that prom
ised not to fund any research into
.'medical advanqgs that.w,Quid
require the sacrifice of human
embryos. He delicately side
stepped this pitfall by only fund
ing research on
already-created
stem cell lines,
stating that no
funding would be
given to newly
created cell lines.
Critics from both sides have
voiced their displeasure.
“Some stem cell uses will
require diversity greater than 60
cell lines,” said Dr. Diane Krause
of Yale University in response to
Bush’s decision. At the other
extreme, the Roman Catholic
Church issued a statement saying
that any benefit gained from the
destruction of human embryos is
unacceptable.
Embryos that are used for stem
cells are taken from fertility clinics
where they have been held for par
ents decide whether to discard
them. The unwanted embryos are
then burned. Time magazine
reports that hundreds of thousands
of such embryos are slated for
destruction — their medical poten
tial to be simply tossed away.
President Bush should give
these embryos over to research.
Their fate is decided and the deed
is all but done. Why not gain
whatever benefit we can by pluck
ing them from the fire to save the
life of another or potentially
improve the quality of life for all?
In their destruction, we lose the
opportunity to open the eyes of
the blind, restore the minds of the
insane and cure the problems of
the sick. Opponents of this
research would Cast away this
treasure chest before opening it to
the world. While stem cells hold
the key to curing many diseases
and benefits beyond anything ever
discovered, they will never be
able to heal the eyes of those
determined to keep them shut.
Tim Dyll is a senior electrical
engineering major.
EDITORIAL
Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years
FX 77840
EDITORIAL BOARD
Brady Creel
Mariano Castillo
Cayla Carr
Jonathan Jones
Rolando Garcia
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
A Matter of Responsibility
■s and
Tin out
] comply
copies on
only be
Driginal on
>
Leadership involves accountability and the
establishment of high standards. It is unfortu
nate when a student leader fails to meet the
expectations of their position. President of the
Memorial Student Center (MSC) Council is one
of the most high-profile and important of these
student-leader positions, as this individual over
sees a budget that exceeds $5 million.
For this reason, the allegations of improper
conduct against MSC Council President Josh
Rowan are troubling.
Dr. Bill Kibler, associate vice president for
student affairs, has completed an investigation
to determine if Rowan engaged in inappropriate
conduct while on an overseas, University-spon
sored trip. Yet the information has not been
made public. Even worse, allegations have
been made by credible sources that Rowan
encouraged misconduct among the very fresh
men to whom he was supposed to have been a
model and mentor.
If the allegations are validated, the standards
of accountability that should apply to all A&M
student leaders must be enforced.
But the process by which MSC committees
conduct such an inquiry is overly bureaucratic,
secretive and rife with conflicts of interest. A
special committee appointed by the MSC vice
president for human resources is only the first
of three separate bodies that may review poten
tial wrongdoing by Rowan.
The special committee will report its findings
to the MSC executive committee, of which
Rowan is a member. If this group deems it nec-
If the allegations are
validated, the standards of
accountability that should
apply to A&M student lead
ers must be enforced.
essary, the matter will go before the full MSC
Council. This entire process is conducted
behind closed doors.
Even if Rowan is removed, no justification will
be made public. Aggies deserve better than
this. An unnecessarily inefficient and closed
process is not conducive to finding the truth.
The dust has barely settled from the adminis
tration’s last attempt to hide its examination of
a student leader — Senior Yell Leader Boo Boo
Davies, whose academic eligibility was ques
tioned in May. Such elusive tactics must not be
employed again.
Rowan, like every other high-profile student
leader who might act irresponsibly, owes the
A&M community an explanation. Hiding
behind a curtain of secretive procedures and
bureaucratic processes is no way to embrace
the responsibility necessary of the position.
He should speak publicly to the issue and
acknowledge wrongdoing or categorically deny
the specific allegations leveled against him. In
addition, to maintain the credibility and integri
ty of his position and the process by which he
is examined, Rowan must recuse himself from
any deliberations on this matter by the MSC
Executive Committee, of which he is a member.
Finally, the report and decision should be
public record. A&M students have a right to
examine the actions of those who are chosen to
represent them. Rowan oversees one of the
most important parts of this campus for the
students. In many ways, the MSC really is their
living room.
Aggies need to know about potential wrong
doing by their student leaders, and should be
able to view the reports, whatever they find.
After all, secrecy and a lack of accountability
breed corruption.
Yates support
is
JONATHAN
JONES
T he Houston chapter.of the National
Organization for Women (NOW) is rallying
support for Andrea Yates, the Clear Lake
woman who drowned her five children on June 20.
According to the Houston
Chronicle, the group is forming the
Andrea Pia Yates Support Coalition
to raise money for her defense. A
candlelight vigil will be held the
night before a competency hearing
on Sept. 12 to determine if she is
fit to stand trial. NOW believes that
her husband, Russell Yates, also
should be held accountable for the murders because
he knew she was mentally unstable. Yates faces capi
tal murder charges in the deaths of three df her chil
dren — Noah, 7; John, 5 and Mary, 6 months. She is
not yet charged in the deaths of Paul, 3 and Luke, 2.
She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
However, it is NOW that has lost its mind. This
irrelevant shell of an organization should condemn
Yates just tike any other murderer. Perhaps she was,
as the organization contends, severely depressed as
she held each child’s head underwater in a bathtub.
But depression is not an excuse for committing cold
blooded murder, and it is outrageous for feminists or
anyone else to offer excuses for her.
The Houston chapter of NOW, as well as those
who would support their efforts, do a grave disserv
ice to justice and children everywhere. Shortly after
the killings, columnist Anna Quindlen explained in
the pages of Newsweek the reaction of some fellow
feminists she h$d been discussed the murders with.
She wrote of their reactions, “And the look says that
at some forbidden level she understands. The look
says that there are two very different kinds of horror
here. There is the entirely imaginable idea of the
killings. And then there is the unimaginable idea of
going quietly bonkers in the house with five kids
under the age of 7.” She goes on to write of the
“insidious cult of motherhood.”
Imagine the response to a man, just after beating
his wife beyond recognition, who tries to offer a’sim
ilar excuse or explanation. Yates’ lawyers claim she
had a prolonged history of mental disease, including
postpartum depression.
As a result, her supporters want her husband crimi
nally prosecuted. A charge against Russell Yates is not
likely because there is no evidence that she or the chil
dren were abused or neglected by him. Houston
Attorney Brian Wice said in the Houston Chronicle,
“He may be condemned, and rightfully so, in the court
of public opinion, but there is no legal basis for him to
stand trial in a court of law.” He probably could have
been more supporting at home. But the sad facts of
Andrea Yates’ actions remain, and her husband had no
way to look into the future. Raising several young
children at the same time is not an easy task.
But every year, thousands of parents across the
nation work through the stress. They also reap the
rewards of selflessless that only raising children can
provide. There is no evidence of mental instability,
and even the severest depression should not absolve
guilt. Five children are dead, and she is responsible.
Andrea Yates deserves no sympathy, and NOW only
chips away at what little credibility they have left
when defense funds are set up and vigils are held in
her honor.
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal
has announced he is seeking the death penalty for
Andrea Yates. Justice demands it; Yates deserves to
die for her crimes. She held the heads of five children
underwater until they drowned, methodically laying
the bodies across a bed before bringing in the next
child to its death. To offer aid and comfort to Andrea
Yates is far more insane than Andrea Yates ever was.
Her husband, who has lost his five children and his
wife, is the one who deserves a support coalition.
Jonathan Jones is a senior
political science major.
CARTOON OF THE DAY
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I WILL NOT REFER TO L : ,*'S
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I WILL NOT REFER TO «
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I WILL NOT REFER TO LU'S
ON THE PARKING PERMITS
I WILL NOT REFER TO LU'S
ON THE PARKING PERMITS
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