Programs & Campaigns

Cutting-Edge Biology for Santa Fe Public Schools

On Monday, January 12, at 9 A.M., the Environmental and Animal Rights Society (the EARS), a Santa Fe High School student organization, will make a presentation to the Cabinet of the Superintendent of Schools, advocating the use of state-of-the-art, computer-based, virtual dissection alternatives over the traditional practice of dissecting treated specimens. The presentation in the Board Room of the Administration Building, 610 Alta Vista, is a first formal step toward School Board approval of a change in District policy.

Internationally recognized expert, Dr. Theodora Capaldo, Executive Director and President of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) located in Boston, MA, will also be on hand to answer questions. NEAVS furnished the Santa Fe School District with free humane alternatives to serve as a model program.

Ashley Jaramillo and Kate Dutton, Co-Presidents of the EARS, state that their group hopes to prove that "the practice of animal dissection is a cruel anachronism that is not only an inferior teaching method when compared to high-tech alternatives, but is harmful to the environment and more costly than the use of humane alternatives." Recently lauded in The Santa Fe New Mexican as an outstanding student who has her sights set on Johns Hopkins, Ashley noted, "This is cutting-edge biology. The best veterinary schools in the country use computer software rather than actual specimens." EARS Mentor and Biology teacher, Linda Marple, observed that the students' interest in computer alternatives began two years ago when she posed the question, "Where do animals for dissection come from?"

Also on the EARS' calendar that day, at 4 P.M. at Santa Fe High School's Business Center ( Bottom Floor, Computer Lab, Room 3101) is an opportunity for a hands-on experience with the advanced computer-based virtual dissection alternatives. All science teachers in the District have been invited to the free 1 1/2 hour demonstration conducted by EARS, with Dr. Capaldo available again for questions. The availability of these alternatives to replace the use of specimens and their costly disposal could save Santa Fe's school district over
$20,000 per year.

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The State of the Anti-Vivisection Movement in America