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BRAY
ast Monday, Texas A&M researchers
announced they had become the first aca
demic institution in the world to clone
three animal species following the successful
cloning of a pig and a goat ear
lier this year. In 1999, A&M
researchers produced Second
Chance, a calf cloned from a
Brahman bull, and in 2(X)(), they
produced another calf clone. 86
Squared.
In making advances in such a
controversial field, Texas A&M
■ researchers are courageously
■iking the lead to dramatically increase the
world's food supply.
Admittedly, researchers have a lot of work
■head before cloning fulfills its potential to
increase both the quantity and the quality of meat
available for consumption. Scientists often must
■y dozens of times before the process is success-
lul. There also is a great deal of research that
Biust be completed regarding the animals that
■ave already been cloned, including the effects of
aging and how many times the clones can be
safely replicated.
The work that remains to be done here is
advantageous to the community because it gives
citizens more time to learn about and under
stand the issues involved in cloning. Society
piust decide how cloning is to be used, when it
ipi appropriate and what limitations will be
placed on the procedure.
I The problem is that cloning sounds like
something from a bad science fiction movie.
People do not take the time to consider the
Impact cloning technology will actually have on
society. By continuing to make advances in this
field, researchers at A&M are forcing people to
look closely at cloning because that technology,
which once seemed to be decades away, is sud
denly upon us.
The American people need to consider
whether projects such as the Missyplicity Project,
in which an anonymous donor has granted $2.3
million to clone their pet border collie named
Missy, is a proper use of this technology.
Of course, more difficult issues loom ahead.
Americans must eventually decide if the cloning
of humans should even be allowed in the near
future. This is the most volatile issue within the
cloning debate. Some activists are concerned that
cloning technology will be applied to humans
once the technology becomes capable of accom
plishing such tasks. Those who firmly believe
cloning must never be applied to humans some
times argue against cloning itself, ignoring the
potential positive.
With their work, A&M researchers are learn
ing about the procedure so that we as a society
can discover the best ways to use cloning.
Perhaps we will decide that projects like the
Missyplicity Project are justified and should be
allowed, but the cloning of humans will not be
allowed under any circumstances.
Maybe we will decide that human cloning
will only be allowed in very specific situations.
Perhaps we will simply decide that cloning
itself is too dangerous and will discontinue such
efforts entirely. Regardless of what decision
society makes or what guidelines it sets, the
only way an informed decision can be made is
with information provided by researchers.
While A&M’s researchers should keep ethics
in mind, they must allow society to decide
where the limitations will be placed. In produc
ing clones of calves, pigs and goats, they are
giving Americans the opportunity to learn
about both the positive and negative aspects of
cloning, as well as the limitations to what
cloning technology can do.
In order to make the best decision in a philo
sophically challenging area, society needs
A&M’s researchers to continue making
advances in cloning research. Without a doubt,
this issue is going to be one that dominates
medicine for a long time. But cloning is here to
stay, and some of the medical advances that
can arise from this controversy had their begin
ning right here. Citizens should be as informed
as possible, and A&M must keep us talking.
Rich Bray is a junior
journalism major.
ANGELIQUE FORD • THE BATTALION
Banning of Alabama court display is discriminatory
hirty-five years after Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. delivered his famous speech,
“I Have a Dream,” Alabama state Rep.
Alvin Holmes tried to enter
the Alabama Judicial Building
and place a plaque in the
rotunda commemorating that
day. But Holmes and 50 sup
porters were locked out of the
building. They left singing
“We Shall Overcome.”
The conflict arises from
Alabama Supreme Court
Chief Justice Roy Moore’s
Aug. 2 unveiling of his monument, which fea
tures the Ten Commandments. The controversy
lies in the fact that Chief Justice Moore will not
allow any other displays to be placed in the
rotunda. Moore did not ask anyone's permission
to place his monument.
He also claims that he has the right to refuse
other displays. Since the building is a public
building paid for by taxpayers' dollars. Holmes
has just as much right to display his plaque as
Moore does. To not allow its display is to dis
criminate and that is unacceptable.
Moore said his display of the Ten
Commandments “acknowledges the supremacy
of God as the basis of the law.” While people
may argue the idea of the Ten Commandments
as the basis for present-day laws, the issue is
the right to display something in a public build
ing. If Moore’s display is
legal, then Holmes’
plaque should also be dis
played. Moore contends
that as Chief Justice, he is
the lease holder of the
building, and he has a
right to deny the plaque
from being placed in the
rotunda. Yet, in an
Associated Press article.
Holmes said according to
lawyers he has spoken with, Moore “does not
have the authority to stop the display of the
King speech.”
As a taxpayer in Alabama, Holmes should
have the same right as Moore — who is also a
taxpayer — to display the King plaque.
University of Alabama political science Prof.
D’Linell Finley told The Associated Press, “If
Promoting just one view, espe
cially a religious one, in a state
building goes against the idea
that there is an inherent
impartiality within the
American justice system.
you put up one monument representing one
political view, you do open up the claim that
other groups should have the right to bring in
monuments too.” Promoting just one view, espe
cially a religious one, in a state building goes
against the idea that there is an inherent impar
tiality within the
American justice system.
It also treads the line of
separation of church and
state.
Bob Johnson of The
Associated Press writes
that, “Civil liberty groups
have complained that the
Ten Commandments mon
ument could be offensive
to some visitors to the tax
payer financed building.”
Holmes believes that “the authority (to decide
what to display) rests with all the justices of the
Supreme Court (of Alabama) and not just with
one individual.”
The other justices need to voice their opinions
and fight for equality and fairness in this case.
Without their input, Moore is left to do whatever
he wants, including denying what is fair and just.
King was one of the most important players
in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. His
nonviolent protest and oratory skills worked to
create a society where discrimination of any
kind is not permissible. To forbid the plaque’s
display is an embarrassment to all the work
King and others of the era did for this country.
The country was based on the idea that all men
were created equal, but it was not until the
1960s when that ideal was realized. It seems
now that the idea is no longer true in parts of the
country. Moore has taken steps to say that the
work of King is not as important to this country
as the Ten Commandments are. This serves to
erase most of the work that King did.
The country should not stand for this kind of
blatant discrimination in the court system. If
Moore has that much of a problem with the dis
play, then he should also remove his display and
just not allow any type of monument to be dis
played. Only then would the equality and impar
tiality of the justice system be preserved.
Brieanne Porter is a junior
political science major.
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HENDERSON
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B eginning Fall 2001, the
College of Liberal Arts
will offer a bachelor of
arts in music.
Authorized
by the Texas
Higher
Education
Coordinating
Board last
April, the
new music
major is the first
of its kind for Texas A&M. The
College of Liberal Arts had only
offered music as a minor.
Adding music as a major to
the curriculum will not only
make A&M a more desirable
place but also will help the
school to be more academically
competitive among other top
state schools around the nation.
Compared with the music
programs of various other public
universities in Texas such as the
University of Texas-Austin, the
University of North Texas and
Texas Tech University, there
was, until very recently, little
the right direction
music opportunity available at
’A&M.
With the new music major,
A&M will come closer to the
goals that Vision 2020 has set
for the arts program.
New, properly funded liberal
arts programs will
bring exposure to the
university and work to
eliminate stereotypes,
including that A&M
offers strong engineer
ing and agriculture
programs at the
expense of other
academic disci
plines.
According to
Vision 2020, creat
ing a powerful arts pro
gram is one of the
steps to building a
flourishing and bal
anced academic curricu
lum. The improvement of
the arts at A&M was listed as
the fourth of the 12 goals,
among others such as strength
ening graduate programs and
diversification of the A&M com
munity.
Vision 2020 states in part, “It
is abundantly clear that we will
never be seen as a premier insti
tution nationally without a far
stronger letters, arts and sciences
program.”
A&M’s academic program,
for years lacking a music major,
is quite unusual compared to
others schools nationally.
The music major program
here is not like a conser
vatory program, where
music is the only focus.
Instead, the new music
major coursework is
broad. It combines tradi
tional music courses, includ
ing composition, theory and per
formance, with liberal arts
courses such as anthropology,
journalism and philosophy. This
will strengthen the broad base of
knowledge a liberal arts educa
tion is supposed to provide.
For those who understand the
influence that music has on the
spirit and the success of A&M,
the music degree could not have
come at a better time.
Until A&M produces and
maintains a liberal arts program
that can compete with the pro
grams of other public universi
ties such as the University of
Michigan or the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
A&M will not be able to fulfill
the purpose of Vision 2020.
By creating more liberal arts
programs, perhaps students will
be able to see the arts as promi
nently as other majors. This is a
worthy goal to work for. This
year, A&M will see the estab
lishment of what could, in the
Aggie tradition, become one of
the most respectable music pro
grams in the country.
Such a lofty goal might be far
in the future, but possible with the
right amount of resources. That
will contribute significantly to the
establishment of a top university,
something every Aggie should
want to be a part of.
Leigh Henderson is a sophomore
psychology major.
V'
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