The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/19/09 Section: Opinions

Backward bans

The University will suffer if the state Senate bans stem cell research again.

It seems members of the Georgia Senate don't believe eight years of restrictions on valuable stem cell research was enough.

Although we initially breathed a sigh of relief when President Barack Obama issued an executive order to eliminate a ban on stem cell research, we're still keeping our fingers crossed that the Georgia Senate doesn't keep us mired in a state of Puritanism.

There are two valuable items at stake here. The first is the opportunity to develop new vaccines and medicine which will greatly improve our quality of life. The second is the reputation of our University.

The University's Regenerative Bioscience Center is developing treatments for debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The proposed ban will make it difficult for the RBC to receive grants and funding as they compete with research centers which don't have the same restrictions.

The University is also working hard to develop a name as a premier research institution. That will be stunted if research in this highly promising area is prohibited due to an outdated ban. It will also be difficult to recruit students and faculty if our school is seen as a victim of backward Bible Belt policies.

It's frustrating for us to live in a state where politics are often driven by religious ideology rather than rational reasoning. Sadly, our University sometimes suffers from it.

The proposed bill is a knee-jerk reaction and places little consideration on how the research is conducted. Since the cells that will be used are taken from defective embryos with no chance of becoming a living organism, the scientists are acting ethically.

Some opponents to stem cell research argue it yields few positive results, but our president knows we run a greater risk in not trying. At the ceremony in which the restrictions were lifted, he said, "Medical miracles do not happen simply by accident."

Go to legis.state.ga.us to find out your representative's contact information. We urge students to let lawmakers know a continuation of Bush-era restrictions would be detrimental both to the state of Georgia and its flagship university.

- Drew Wheatley for the editorial board

Culture of apathy

Our challenge to SGA candidates: make us care about the issues and platforms.

With the Student Government Association election upon us, The Red & Black editorial board has noticed some voter apathy among University students.

We all arrived to campus this morning bombarded with posters claiming we should vote for one person or another just as we have been in years past. This routine is dull and tiring. Perhaps it is because of this lack of change that only 15.86 percent of students voted in last year's SGA election.

November's presidential election showed that our generation can stand up and create change if we are truly motivated to do so. It was a controversial time, and through our passion, we were able to come together to make a difference.

But we cannot muster the energy to sit at our computers, log onto OASIS and vote. Are we at fault for this - for our lack of interest in what has become a mundane routine to be endured every March? This is our challenge to the New Deal and the Remix Party: shock us.

Make us want to vote for you. Find ways to make us understand how your proposed changes could improve our lives. Relate to us and make us care whether or not you win this election.

It is tedious to decide which group we should stand behind when they are all promising similar things and there is only mediocre support from the majority of the student body.

Last fall, we were impassioned, demanding change and honestly caring about the outcome of our actions. We were swept up in the sense that we could alter the world.

SGA elections do not need to be nearly that dramatic or far-reaching, but they should be something we are excited about. Those running should make the University community feel something about voting -- not just indifference.

Best of luck to all those running.

- Megan Otto for the editorial board

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