THE Sept. 19, 1985 Vol. 84, No. 6
VISTA
Thursday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Zuhdi stresses need for united religions By Shannon Blockcolski
Vista photos by Danny Hoke
Heart surgeon Dr. Nazhi Zudhi spoke to about 20 au-
dience members Tuesday night at the Liberal Arts auditorium. The forum was sponsored by the Philosophy Club.
"Islam, the Religion of Peace" was the topic of discussion when Dr. Nazhi Zuhdi, noted heart surgeon, spoke to the Central State Philosophy Club Tuesday in the Liberal Arts Auditorium. Zudhi began the lecture by saying, "I am not a Buddhist, I am not a Hindu, I am not a Confucianist. I am a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim, which is an adherent of Islam." He stressed the need for mutual acceptance and understanding between the three religions of the one God — Abraham. "I think religion should be depolarized. Evangelists, such as the ones you see on television, polarize religion. They put religion through theatrics, with their thrashing hands and contemptable way they hold the Bible," said Zuhdi. In response to his recent decision to drop his request to build an Islamic Mosque in Edmond, Zuhdi explained. "There was a very vocal minority who opposed the idea of a mosque in Edmond. I feel I was chosen to build a mosque in Edmond, but I don't want to build it where there would be any form of opposition, not matter how small." Zuhdi mentioned that sites in both Oklahoma City and Norman have been offered for the building of the mosque and are currently under consideration. The University and Zuhdi have been thinking
about having a chair in Islamic studies at CSU with a noted expert from Princeton University coming here to teach the courses, Zuhdi said. As for the Muslim's attitude on the "holy wars," Zuhdi said he was a peaceful man, but, like his religion, he would take no abuse. Peace does not mean a submission to be ridiculed or abused, he claims, and when that happens, it is time to fight. "I feel it should be made known to the local people that Islam is the final chapter in this monotheistic religion, which includes Jews, Muslims and Christians. We must learn to live in peace," he said. During the question and answer session, a selfproclaimed Baptist questioned Zuhdi's ability to believe in both the Islam faith and Christianity. At one point the man asked Zuhdi if he felt that only people of the Islam faith can go to heaven, and if he believed in the New Testament. Zuhdi relied: "As far as I am concerned, to go to heaven all one has to do is have faith and do good deeds. I also believe that the Old Testament, the New Testment and The Koran are all unerring holy books, with the Koran being the last one." The discussion between the audience member and Zuhdi continued for about 20 minutes, when Dr. Clif' Warren, dean of the Liberal Arts College, had to ask the man to hold his questions and let others have their chance.
Supreme Court ruling causes problems here By Curtis Killman Editor
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the payment of overtime wages has caused some financial problems here, according to one CSU adminstrator, but he added that vital services on campus are in no danger of severe cutbacks. The Supreme Court interpretation, becoming known as the Garcia decision, says that employers can no longer award compensatory time off from work in place of overtime pay. Employers now
must either pay overtime, or limit workers to a 40 hour work week. "Yes, there are problems with it," said Dr. Larry Williams, vice president of administration, "but nothing that we're not being able to handle. "It's a decision that I'm not terribly in favor of. It is creating an awful lot of problems for colleges as well as municipalities. We're very cautiously trying to approach it." As an example, Williams said one of the areas affected was campus security. In the past, it was
common for officers to work past the 40 hour week. Williams stressed though that the University's priority was to make certain that vital services on campus are maintained. Williams said that he had talked to Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla. and other congressmen about the problem. "I had the opportunity to speak to members of our Congressional delegation a few weeks ago on the Garcia decision," said Williams. "The people that I've talked
to," he added, "have indicated to me that they're very hopeful that they will be able to provide some legislative relief in this next session." Williams said that all of the congressmen he had talked to had said the same thing: "That they had received a good number of calls from constituents that indicate that bureaucratically, to follow it (the Garcia decision), it was creating problems for municipalities and educational agencies."
Dr. Larry Williams
Plant cloning: An agricultural gold mine? By Jane11 Schilz
Joe Vaughan, assistant professor of biology, said Sept. 12 at Howell Hall, that he believes one of the next biggest steps that American agriculture takes will be in the commercial development of
plant cloning. Vaughan spoke on his research done in Australia this summer and gave a review of the research and facilities abroad who are involved in plant cloning. His main focus was on the Bur-
In this issue. . Nigerian students to elect officers...page 3 Professor compiling fake quotes...page 4 University Center celebrates birthday...page 5 Lineman finds a home...page 7 Bronchos face Texas foe...page 8
bank Laboratory, 50 miles north of Sidney, Australia, where modern profitable plant biology is being conducted. Vaughan said he was impressed with George Taylor, owner and director of the Burbank Laboratory. According to Vaughan, Taylor has taken an exciting new discovery in science and turned into a very profitable industry. The most important gain of Burbank Labs over the labs in the U.S., Vaughan said, is that Australian labs support all their research from their profits gained from the plant cloning industry. Vaughan credited Taylor for these money-making decisions. The Burbank Lab makes their money by cloning plants in large volumes and in sterile conditions.
The cloning procedure begins by taking a dissection of the plant — which can be either a seed, the embryos of the seed, root tips, or stem tips. The cutting is then placed into a growth medium, which consists of agar, nutrients, vitamins and hormones especially designed for that plant's growth. From here the plants are transferred many times into new media, under sterile conditions to prevent infection and disease. The plants are eventually transferred to soil and placed outside or in air- conditioned nurseries. Vaughan said that the advantages of plant cloning are prevalent because the plant is in a sterile enviroment and given the ideal conditions to grow in. Because of this, the cloned plants
are stronger than those started from seed in soil. This is especially true for agriculture, said Vaughan. He added that the Burbank Lab has a client that orders a crop of tuber potatos every four months for potato chips. He stated that the lab makes $15,000 from each crop. Vaughan stressed how important it is that the United States use the cloned plants for agriculture, since these plants can be genetically designed to ward off viruses and disease. He concluded that England has plans for a cloning laboratory in Santa Paula, Calif., and that it will cost $15 million. The seminar on plant cloning was sponsored by Sigma Xi, The Society for Professional Research.