Letters to the Editor

3/12/09 7:00pm

Division of politics and science foolish

To the Editor:A CNN.com headline on Monday, March 9 stated that President Obama intends to separate politics from science in regards to stem cell research. Such an idea is folly. The articulation of this society's ethics occurs in the political forum, and ethics should never be separated from science. Although I do concede that the President is the legitimately elected leader to discern such issues, a blanket statement such as this is foolish. In Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm remarked, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

Scientific developments cannot be assumed to be progressive. For example, the technological improvements of nuclear weapons cannot be mistaken as the forward march of humankind, as increased sophistication meant potentially increased devastation. Politics were also involved then as they are now with science in determining funding, as well as test and waste sites.

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Scientific progress can also bring ambiguous results. The Industrial Revolution can be attributed to the rise of modern society, but it came with a heavy cost. In the short-term, humans were discarded from their jobs as expendable resources rendered obsolete by mechanization. In the long-term, we will still pay the costs with the lack of concern toward the environment. Politics, as always, was involved in influencing legislation that promoted urban growth whether through tax credits, labor laws or regulations.

The facts of science may not lie, but determining if we can live with those facts matters.

Leonard N. Chan

Lovett 2007

Visiting MPA Graduate Student Fall 2008

Bike accident aftermath mishandled

To the Editor:

A committee to study and make recommendations relating to bicycle safety on campus was formed last year. Since then, we have launched an initiative to distribute bells for bikes and begun to draft recommendations for future bicycle policy on campus that encourages cycling while enhancing safety. We will soon share our positive vision with the administration.

Sadly, our task gained sudden urgency on Feb. 25 when a member of a college cycling team was badly injured when she struck a car that was apparently crossing the Greenbriar track while she and others were training. Campus officials quickly assessed the situation and closed the track to vehicle parking until after the upcoming Beer Bike race. In response to the event, the track will be closed on weekdays.

While we applaud the university's efforts to enhance the safety of bicycle track users, we believe the weekday bicycle track closure is unnecessary. Although parking in the surrounding lot is limited by temporary influx of construction workers, there are alternatives. We wish to engage in a discussion with Rice parking officials to achieve a consensus that meets the needs of all parties. Our committee continues to strive for creative solutions to transportation and bicycle safety issues on campus. Regulatory processes gain legitimacy when diverse opinions are taken into account. Towards that goal, we urge Rice community members to engage the administration and our committee. This plea is especially relevant for undergraduate and graduate students, who compose the majority of cyclists on campus. We also urge cyclists to help us improve conditions by observing existing regulations and showing courtesy to pedestrians.

Jeff Kilpatrick

Computer science graduate student

Bicycle Safety Committee

bicyclesafety-l@rice.edu

Online Comment of the Week

In response to "Two new potential minors proposed to Faculty Senate" (Feb. 27, 2009):

Will the abbreviation for Jewish Studies really be JEWS? That would be hilarious.

In general, I agree with the sentiment of minors: The whole double- and triple-majoring was getting crazy at Rice. Ideally, students would take more classes that they are interested in, and employers would actually look at the transcripts and the individual classes, but perhaps this is too much to expect.

By getting a minor, students get a bit more out of it than "just classes." Additionally, the minors organize classes that belong together into a coherent course of study, and that kind of guidance can also only be helpful.

Mathias Ricken

Graduate student

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