Right to safe research overrules so-called right of taxpayers

I was baffled by Nyles Bauer’s letter in Monday’s Daily Wildcat that urged people to intrude upon the university’s animal research, especially since the letter was written by a member of the science field (“”Animal rights week campus warning””). Surely Mr. Bauer, a microbiology doctoral student, understands that control of the environment is essential in experimental method. I highly doubt he would be very appreciative of any old Joe Taxpayer wandering into his lab and experimentation to poke around. Experiments taking place in a sterile lab environment have nothing to do with “”hiding,”” but are in fact, well controlled experiments. University Animal Care does have higher security levels than most other places on campus, but not due to hiding anything, it’s about protection and safety for animals and employees alike. To anyone who questions the security measures of UAC, I urge you to Google an incident that occured in 1989 when the Animal Liberation Front broke into UAC, stealing over a thousand animals (who surely died) and causing over $500,000 in damages to the university, not to mention destroying years of valuable research that could have saved lives. Instead of protesting animal research this week, take a moment to thank animal research for all the medical advances it has accomplished. And please, especially this week, treat UAC with the same respect you would give to any scientific research department.

Stephanie Carlson
psychology junior