Ending the blame game
Yet another issue emerged this week that will have the activists among us aching for action. The new facility planned for the University Science Parks will house animals destined for use in testing, making it a potential target for national animal rights pressure groups. Equally as significant, however, is the fact that it will also prompt action from within the University's student population.
The new building will be situated in close proximity to libraries, colleges, teaching laboratories and lecture theatres. The ultimate victims of any disruption, whether by national or university pressure groups, will be those who are simply trying to learn.
Whenever disruption to study raises questions of accountability, the accusations, of course, come thick and fast. The University will always blame the activists for taking radical steps, just as the activists will always blame the University for holding firm to the standpoint which provokes the action in the first place. As a result, everyone loses.
Both the disruption and the blame game can be avoided by simple common sense. The University should be reminded that although it has to strive for this institution's future excellence it also has a responsibility to current students, and the current academic conditions must be their priority. The moral implications of building such a facility are certainly worth close examination, but if it must be built, it must be built in such a way that disruption is minimised. The University would do its students a great service by simply building it elsewhere.
12th Feb 2004