Wednesday, March 3, 1999
Athens, Ohio
An Independent Daily Newspaper
Ohio University
Local viewing
Thank you for the front-page article about the Athena Cinema, "Athena asks city for parking help," that appeared on Feb. 26. Because of Movies 10, the Athena has had decreased attendance and might have to close its doors permanently. If this happens, I know I and probably many others will be very disappointed.
I prefer the Athena to the garish lights and bright colors of Movies 10. It also is within walking distance from campus, which is very convenient for those of us without cars. I noticed that on the same day as the appearance of the article, the Athena's movie listing was shown next to that of Movies 10 in The Post. But apparently the listing for the Athena was only appropriate for that day. A listing for both movie theaters would be appreciated for those of us who patronize the Uptown theater and want to know what is playing there. I also urge everyone on campus and in Athens to attend our local Uptown theater instead of driving elsewhere.
Carolyn Reilly
13C Station St.
cr151895
Editor,
"Save your first patient. Choose an alternative to the animal lab." So was I admonished by a "Babe"-like piglet in the advertisement placed by The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the March 1 issue of The Post.
As a second-year osteopathic medical student at OU-COM, I was among the participants in the Fall Quarter cardiovascular laboratory involving live animal subjects. Contrary to the ad's premise, no computer model, interactive video, or simulator would have provided an equivalent educational experience to the one in which I took part.
None of these modalities would have afforded future physicians the opportunity to actually feel the contractions of a beating heart, clamp a vessel with blood coursing through its walls or stimulate a viable and functioning nerve. If prestigious institutions such as Yale, Harvard and Stanford have abandoned live animal laboratories in favor of so-called alternatives, that is their unfortunate loss.
Though I am opposed to the purposeless or haphazard sacrifice of animal lives, the anesthetized pigs in question constituted an essential part of a worthwhile educational endeavor. Consider for a moment the possibility that knowledge acquired in the exercises might somehow contribute to saving a life - a human life - at some time in the future. Only then may one reach a logical conclusion about what responsible medicine really is.
Benjamin P. Almasanu