1911 2011 MISSISSIPPIAN T H E
D A I L Y
hundred year anniversary
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24, 2011 | V
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Th e M i s s i s s i p p i a n PUBLISHED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
Animal Cruelty Complaint Filed Against UMMC Claims Medical Center Illegally Uses Anesthetized Pigs In Classes BY CAIN MADDEN Campus News Editor
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine of Washington, D.C., has filed a complaint of animal cruelty against the University of Mississippi Medical Center with the United States Department of Agriculture. PCRM Senior Medical and Research Advisor Dr. John J. Pippin said the medical center illegally uses anesthetized pigs in undergraduate physiology laboratory classes, an act that the committee feels is in violation with the Animal Welfare Act because of the superior methods available for instructing students, such as computer simulation. “What will happen, is that the department of agriculture will send an inspector to the University,” Pippin said. “Hopefully, they will find similar to us, in that the University is not compliant with the Animal Welfare Act, and ask them to change.” On Friday, Jack Mazurak, with the UMMC division of public affairs, said the physiology labs do use the computer simulation along with live pigs, which he added was done legally. “We are one of the schools that pioneered the computer programs,” Mazurak said. “We have the technology, and we believe it is important in the learning process, but that it can not yet replace working with a live organism.” In a state that consistently ranks among the highest in heart disease, obesity, stroke, hypertension and kidney disease, UMMC must use animal and simulation methods to produce the highest quality physicians to serve Mississippi’s population, University officials said in a press release. Officials also said that the pigs, overseen in the lab by veterinarians, are humanely treated and euthanized at the end of the exercise. The University monitors advancements in technology and will use any advancement to replace the use of live pigs when faculty and the administration feel it is an adequate replacement, UMMC officials said. Pippin said he believes the technology needed to replace the use of live pigs was already here, and added
that it was telling that only seven allopathic schools out of 124 in the United States still use live animals. “What we have are programmable human simulators that can be programmed to show natural human responses, which is much more efficient than using a live pig because it is not like a human,” Pippin said. “It is educationally superior, and 95 percent of schools no longer use live animals.” Pippin said it would actually save the University money to discontinue the use of live pigs in labs. “You would not have to keep, anesthetize or euthanize 34 pigs a year,” Pippin said. “You already have the technology, so there are no up-front costs.” While the pigs are anesthetized, Pippin said there is always the chance that one could wake up during the lab. “The pigs are lifted up on a table, anesthetized, and the students open up the chest and neck, place catheters in the arteries and veins of the animals, block the arteries, inject them with drugs and massage the pigs hearts before the animals are killed,” Pippin said. “A pig may have never woken up in all the years that the University has used live pigs, but there is still the possibility.” Officials at the University said that students are able to opt out of these labs, and the vast majority of students find the experience valuable. The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care has given the facilities, staff and procedures top rankings, University officials said in a press release. University officials added in the release that the program is overseen by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, which includes members of the community. Pippin said PCRM communications with the University Medical Center date back to May of 2006, and he is only filing this complaint after consideration. “We reluctantly filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, because, frankly, we felt like they have ignored us,” Pippin said.
Board of Aldermen Approves Alcohol Sales On Sundays Restaurants Can Now Sell on Select Sundays From 11 a.m Till 9 p.m.
GPS Technology on OUT Buses Allows Riders To Track Arrival Times
BY ASHLEIGH DAVIS
BY MARIDANE HEWES
The Daily Mississippian
The Daily Mississippian
The Board of Aldermen approved the proposal for the request of occasional sale of alcohol on certain Sundays in the city of Oxford between the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Mayor Pat Patterson said that sometime in the next few weeks he will be going to Jackson to meet with the State Tax Commission and seek permission for those exceptions. The approval was a 4-3 decision at the regularly scheduled December 7, 2010, meeting. The said Sundays would be Mother’s Day (May 8), Father’s Day ( June 19), Valentine’s Day when on a Sunday and after every Ole Miss home football game. Sales would be limited to these nine or possibly ten Sundays out of the year. The proposal to sell beer in grocery stores and convenience stores on Sundays was declined at the January 4 meeting. Oxford Police Chief Mike Martin said that he does not expect the approval to change things too drastically. “I do not expect it will be as busy as a Friday or Saturday night, but I expect it to be a lot more reserved,” Martin said. “The times that the board is requesting to be allowed to serve are normally busy weekends anyway, so I don’t believe it will add that much more to what we have to deal with.” Scott Michael, owner and founder of Rooster’s Blues House, said he thinks the approval of the decision is beneficial for Oxford and his business. “With 18 restaurants closing in the past year, the city could use the revenue from sales on Sunday,” said Michael. Michael said he believes that families would be more willing to stay the entire weekend and this would generate more revenue that we need to embrace. The Board of Aldermen has been considering the approval of Sunday sales for several months and has investigated different options to satisfy both sides of issue.
The Oxford University Transit system has incorporated new technology to create a better riding experience. The buses are now equipped with Next Bus GPS services, a program that allows riders to know the exact time their bus will arrive at their stop. There are different ways to access the information including visiting nextbus.com, calling 662-550-2039, sending a text message to “41411” with a message saying “nbus agency stop” or using a smart phone to access the website on the go. Applications for smart phones are being developed, which will make accessing the bus schedule even more convenient. “These changes were brought about by modern technology,” Ron Briggs, general manager of OUT said. “OUT is advancing with the times and most other bus systems already had these things.” All the buses have also been recently equipped with security cameras, providing passengers with a safer riding experience. The cameras are used to ensure that drivers are following proper protocol and have already been used in determining whether a complaint was valid or not. “We with Oxford University Transit strive to provide a safe, sustainable ride for the community and the University,” Cory Washington from the Office of Campus Sustainability said. “We are now happy that students, faculty and community riders are now able to look on the internet, call or look on their mobile devices to see when the next bus is arriving and it’s current location.” With more than 70 percent of the Ole Miss community of students and faculty using the OUT bus system, these changes will be incredibly helpful, providing exact times for the arrival of the next bus. Briggs said he hopes these changes will provide an even safer riding experience than before and benefit every passenger aboard the OUT buses.
Students Seen Sledding on Ironing Boards, Mattresses During Wintersession Oxford Covered In Eight Inches of Snow Students, Community Reminisce On Snowball Fights BY KAYLEIGH WEBB The Daily Mississippian
On January 9, snowmen outnumbered people at any given moment in the Grove. With snow still hanging in the forecast, students recollect the day during the Wintersession where snowball fights and snowmen dominated the Ole Miss landscape. “I probably spent an unhealthy amount of time in the snow.” Ryan Felder, a freshman public policy major said. “I was in so many snowball fights. I also made many attempts at improvised sledding, which didn’t work out quite too well. I think Oxford was just as crazy about the snow as I was. Everyone was out and having a great time. I saw someone skiing in the Grove – not something I ever thought I would see.” While students were found sledding all over campus, the most popular area for sledding was a large hill by Kincannon. Garbage can lids, cardboard boxes, ironing boards, laundry baskets and even mattresses were used as makeshift sleds that students tumbled down the snow-covered hill on. “I was very disappointed when it finally melted,” Felder said. “But, then again, it was on the ground for so long that I got more than enough fun from it.” Wintersession classes were cancelled for two days due to the icy conditions caused by the Oxford snowstorm. See SNOW, PAGE 4