The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 29, 1989 - Page 3 Experts debate existence of, animal rights by Jim Jankens The question "Do animals have rights?" was debated last night in front of a packed auditorium in Angell Hall. The debate, sponsored by The University of Michigan Students of Objectivism organization, fea- tured David Wills, the president of the National Society for Animal Protection, arguing for the existence of an- imal rights, and Dr. Edwin Locke, a professor of psy- chology at the University of Maryland, arguing against them. WXYT radio talk show host David Newman acted as mediator. Calling medical researchers, "heroes", and animal rights advocates, "enemies of the people", Locke said, "either you do animal research, or man suffers." He argued that the concept of rights pre-supposes the existence of reason, volition, and moral principals, and since animals do not have these cognitive abilities, they have no rights. Wills countered that "To have a right is to have an interest", and since it is obvious that an animal can act in its own best interest, it follows that animals there- fore have rights. "We have no right to do what we do," Wills said, "and they have a right to expect better treatment from man.". Locke accused the animal rights position of being subjective and based on intuition, and stated that their position "is not pro-life, but anti-man." BSU greets new Black students by Vera Songwe Daily Minority Issues Reporter The third annual Black Student Welcome drew over 200 students to the East Quad auditorium last night. "This is not entertainment," said Dr. Abdul Muhammad, director of the Nation's of Islam's Dope- Buster Program in Washington, D.C. and the keynote speaker, "I hope I say something today that you will remember, because whether or not power comes to the Black community depends on you." The problems of Blacks in America persist it is be- cause the Blacks have been doing something wrong, Muhammad went on to say. He urged the students to try to correct this problem. "If we have not solved the prob- lem it is because there is something we are not doing." Muhammad said he hoped students were not just in- terested in talking about the problems facing them, but rather he hoped they were more concerned with finding solutions or, better yet, becoming part of the solution. Attempting to empower the students, he spoke to them about their ancestors and their ancestors' past achievements, comparing the past to the desperate state of Black America today. "Why are you so contained with your enslavement, what has happened in the intervening centuries to make you so complacent?" he asked the crowd. "You have an education that makes you suffer," he said, "because you cannot treat your patient and you will not have any peace of mind until you do something to elevate your community." "Protect yourselves from becoming victims of edu- cation," Muhammad told the students. "I thought he made really good points" said Elizabeth Cole, a graduate student in Psychology, after the speech. "I would have rather, though, that he em- phasized the significance of slavery to the world econ- omy." Muhammad's speech was followed by a question- and-answer session and a speech by BSU president Matthews. "I hope the speech made Black students able to see themselves as a being a collective whole so they can better understand the problems within their commu- nity," Matthews said. Dr. Edwin Locke, professor of psychology and business management at the Univeristy of Maryland, defends the use of animals in medical research last night in Angell Hall. "The animal rights position puts (Dr. Joseph) Mengele (the Nazi doctor who used concentration camp prisoners as the subjects of his experiments) on the same moral plane as (Dr. Jonas) Salk (who discovered the Polio vaccine with the aid of animal research)," Locke said. Judging by their applause, the crowd appeared to support Wills. Both sides spent the majority of the de- bate arguing the philosophical bases of rights, rather than discussing the alternatives, if any, to animal use in research. Funding for the event was provided by the Michigan Student Assembly, the Office of the Vice-President for Student Services, the Associate Dean for Budgeting, and the Ayn Rand Institute. Stockwell residents receive rude awakening by Darci McConnell names," says Lavrack. there have been at least eight obscene calls to Baits resi- Residents in Stockwell Hall and two other residence Although the names and numbers of residents are dthe bsB halls have been roused out of their beds by an obscene available in the recently released residence hall student dents this term.t,' phone caller with a disturbing message - he knows directory, they are listed alphabetically and not by hallH. their nnmee o r rm in number. H eincv'- floor charts however list prising since the directory has come out. ,' t e r names. According to Stockwell Building Director Julie Lavrack, nearly half the residents in Stockwell received obscene phone calls late last Friday and Saturday nights. The caller phoned rooms on each hall in order, ad- dressing residents by their first name and asking sexual questions. "I guess this problem [obscene phone calls] happens every year... it's fairly unique that he knows everyone's V I .A* a1flLJ1,A. g11vU611*i 3, .JV t. i,,Z VT ?V Gtk n residents numerically by room number. "Only university staff would have access to floor charts - but that's wide ranged. University staff could be anyone from the director of housing to desk staff," said Lavrack. Residents of two other halls have also been disturbed by obscene callers. Baits Hall Coordinator Director Doug White said Mosher-Jordan Building Director Jackie Mims also cited two incidents of obscene phone calls to residents. As a result of the calls at Stockwell, building secu- rity was notified and has contacted residents in the halls to discuss the calls. "At this point security is trying to be pro-active. They are ready to put taps on as many phones as possi- ble," said Lavrack. 0 a ATTENTION: ~~ApoU}a M-Care HMO nnrtircink..s F-- WA Eat With The Best. 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