Letters to the editor

Poor attendance was the result of poor ticket policy

Tuesday’s letter to the… Poor attendance was the result of poor ticket policy

Tuesday’s letter to the editor concerning attendance at the inaugural basketball game baffled me. The author, Douglas Schulze, first criticized students for complaining about the basketball ticket policy, and then he provided evidence that validated these same complaints. The main issue students had with the ticket policy was that a lottery gave the casual fans the same chance of obtaining tickets as the most dedicated fans. The students argued that giving all fans equal access to tickets – thereby denying a large portion of the most passionate fans – would result in low student attendance. Schulze simply witnessed the results of a poor ticket policy, and the complaining students predicted these results all along.

By the way, why did Schulze “expect to pass thousands of students walking back down the hill that were being denied admission to the game” when we were denied admission weeks ago? He should remember that after paying our tuition, we students don’t have the extra money to contribute to the athletic department. Since this was the dominating factor in distributing tickets, the students were overlooked once again by the University.

Eric Poli

Graduate student

Adult stem cells should be used instead of embryonic stem cells

An article on the front page of The Pitt News on Oct. 30 reads “Pitt one of few to receive embryonic stem cells.” Embryonic stem cells are human fertilized eggs usually left over from an effort at in-vitro fertilization. For those who are not familiar with the process of in-vitro fertilization, it involves uniting the sperms and eggs outside a woman’s body. The fertilized eggs are then placed in 10 or more test tubes to start a human life.

The eggs are monitored in a search for the one that appears strong, and well developed. At some point the selected fertilized egg is placed in the woman’s body waiting birth. But the leftover eggs – human embryonic stem cells at the earliest stage of human life – are then used for research and treated like monkeys or mice in the lab.

Actually, adult stem cells have proven to be significantly more successful than embryonic stem cells. For instance:

-Adult stem cells already have current application for cancer, sickle cell anemia, skin transplant and other ills.

-Adult stem cells have potential applications for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, liver diseases, diabetes and heart diseases.

-There is an adequate supply of adult stem cells for the patient.

-There is no transplant rejection in using adult stem cells.

-There are no ethical concerns about using adult stem cells.

The Pitt News article reflects a great hope for Pitt research, but ignores the responsibility to protect all stages of human life – even for the tiniest member of society.

Rita Cunningham

Alumna and faculty spouse