THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140330
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CULPEPPER, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The national anti-dissection hot line got so jammed it went cold.
But when a local teen scheduled a rally to protest what has become a time-honored rite of passage for high school biology students, nobody showed up.
Still, Shawn O'Hern, a Virginia Beach Open Campus student who works for the local chapter of the Animal Defense League, plans to keep pushing his beliefs. And he has some heavy-duty help: Pearl Jam, the social conscience of the MTV generation.
``We completely disagree with dissection,'' O'Hern said. ``It goes against a student's conscience.''
Dissection has spawned debate since it made its way into high school labs in the 1920s. The debate continues, but with a 1990s spin.
Animal-rights activists set up a hot line sponsored by the Seattle-based rock group Pearl Jam and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Students were encouraged to sign petitions urging their principals to stop dissection.
The first 50 students who sent completed, valid copies of petitions received Pearl Jam memorabilia, T-shirts, shorts, singles, posters or an album signed by lead singer and PETA member Eddie Vedder. A Pearl Jam spokesman said that more than 50,000 people called the hot line, which recently was disconnected because it was so jammed.
Because only 2 percent of students who dissect in high school move on to careers in biology, activists say, dissecting animals is unnecessary.
Organizations such as the Chicago-based National Anti-Vivisection Society, the Animal Defense League in Syracuse, N.Y., and PETA are working with students to eliminate what they call ``cruelty in the classroom.''
``We work with young people and counsel them, we set up hot lines and send handbooks, but we also try to counsel biology teachers,'' said NAVS financial planner Linda Petty.
NAVS promotes alternatives, such as computer programs and models. Petty lends frog and pig models free to anyone interested. The models - which cost between $300 and $525 - are plastic and rubber, and are hand-painted to look realistic. Funds are raised through an 80,000-person donor base.
Some biology teachers, however, say animal dissection is necessary.
``We need to dissect to show complexity as you move up the animal kingdom, from worm to crayfish or grasshopper to frog,'' said Linda Chappell, an advanced-placement biology teacher at Kellam High School. ``Since the frog is more like the human, it gives students an idea of the organization in their bodies.
``Probably half of the students can't wait to dissect.''
Chappell has used frog-dissection computer programs for students who refuse to dissect. She contends that these students don't perform as well as the rest of the class.
But a study of 20 students highlighted in the October 1994 edition of ``The American Biology Teacher'' found that those who used the Interactive Frog Dissection computer program did as well as or better than their scalpel-wielding counterparts. The authors did say that more research is needed.
Although the Pearl Jam hot line has raised awareness, some question the motives of the fan-activists.
``You shouldn't be protesting for some rock star's T-shirt,'' O'Hern said. ``You should do it because you believe in the cause.''
The support is still useful, according to NAVS. MEMO: Michael Culpepper is a senior at Kellam High School. by CNB