CAAR is currently conducting a campaign requesting that the Radford Biology Department implement a formal policy allowing students an alternative to dissection in the BIO 102 classes. At the present time, the department has no policy which will protect a student with a religious or moral objection to the dissection of a fetal pig. Students majoring in Dance, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Leisure Services are required to take BIO 102 and are therefore required to dissect a fetal pig. In the past, some Radford students have approached their Bio professors with sincere objections to dissection but were denied the use of a non-animal alternative. Either their grade suffered or they had to drop the class. Students who want to learn material covered exclusively in Bio 102 should not be discriminated against or penalized for their ethical or religious principles.

We have proposed a policy to Dr. Niehaus, the Biology Dpt. Chairperson, which will require the department to offer an alternative to a student wishing to learn the same material through means other than dissection. We are not asking that Bio Dpt. eliminate dissection from its curricula, only that an alternative is made available for those students who choose. We respect a student's right to chose the learning method that is best for them, and likewise, the Biology Department should do the same. Students should not be asked or forced to compromise their personal integrity as the price for their education. The Radford Biology Department should respect the diversity of beliefs among the student body and not insist that students conform to one method of learning when clearly another would be far more beneficial for some.

If you would like more information about this campaign, please email CAAR , or call our president (Lisa) at 831-1464. Please show your support of a formal policy being installed at Radford by writing (polite) letters or emails to any of the following: Dr. Niehaus (Bio Dpt Chairperson), RU PO Box 6931; Dr.Covington (RU President), RU PO Box 6890; Ms. Hurlburt (Dean of Students), RU PO Box 6898; Dr. Liss (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences), RU PO Box 6940; or Dr. Gibbon (Bio Professor), RU PO Box 6931. Or you can simply copy one of the following letters and sign your name at the bottom and forward it to the respective person.

We need to show the Biology Department that this issue will not go away and cannot be ignored any longer.