The Speak Out Loud Forum, called “The More You Know” was held in honor of Constitution Day on Thursday Sept. 18 in Kennedy Room of Banks Student Life Center. Faculty and students discussed foreign policy, effects of global warming and stem cell research.
Students had the chance to understand world issues that affect how people vote in elections, based upon presentations by three Misericordia professors, Dr. David Wright, associate professor and chair of the history department, Dr. Cosima Wiese, associate professor and chair of the biology department, Dr. Angela Asirvatham, assistant professor of biology.
Dr. Wright presented facts and questions about foreign policy; Dr. Wiese informed students about climate change, while Dr. Asirvatham discussed stem cell research.
After the presentations, students were able to ask questions and voice their own opinions in the discussion. Senior Stephanie Pellegrinio, a secondary education/history major, enjoyed the night.
“I feel I’m more informed concerning science issues. I had a general idea of stem cell research and global warming, and now I have a more in-depth view,” said Pellegrino.
Senior history pre-law and business management major Billy Desrosiers thought the presentation was better than reading the material elsewhere.
“I like the fact that professionals could present unbiased facts, where as if you read a newspaper, things are biased and he said, she said business,” he said.
The following information was taken directly from the professor’s presentations. Not all information is present, and students should contact the individual professors for more information.
Foreign Policy
Dr. Wright spoke about seven countries, and concerns for policy with each country that needs to be addressed by the next president.
Afghanistan- U.S. has 32,000 troops along with over 50,000 troops from NATO, should more troops be deployed?
China- The safety of exports leaving their country, I.E. Toys containing lead
Iran- Nuclear weapons and how U.S. Sanctions are not effective and whether the U.S. should meet with the Iranian leader and under what conditions
Iraq- the lengthy war and whether there should be a timetable for troop withdrawal or not. What should be done with the funds and troops after withdrawal?
Korea- how to end missile threats?
Russia- Loss of internal freedom and aggression against their neighbors. How should the U.S. aid Russia’s neighbors?
Sudan- Genocide, what should the U.S. do?
Climate Change
Dr. Wiese explained how climate change is affecting everyone, and what is bringing about the change.
Humans increase climate change by the following:
Burning of fossil fuels (which cause green house gases to be released)
Deforestation
Changes in land usage
Effects of climate change are:
- Rise of air and water temperatures
- Change in the salinity of ocean water
- Change in the wind patterns
- Change in precipitation patterns
- More forest fires,
- More human heat mortality (more mosquitoes, and more diseases being spread)
- Extreme weather intensified
What we can do:
- Try to minimize the emission of green house gases by switching to renewable resources like wind and solar energy
Stem Cell Research
Dr. Asirvatham presented the issues behind stem cell research and the related ethical struggle.
First, she explained that a stem cell is a special cell that can renew itself into other cells.
Research began by taking cells from embryos that would be discarded, but in 2001, the government put federal funds into the research of already started cells and no new ones. Scientists tried using adult stem cells, but encountered problems: there are few of them, they are harder to grow and they don’t grow forever like embryonic stem cells.
One of the latest advancements has been the use of IBS cells, which takes skin cells and introduces them to four different genes. When the right combination was found, it created stem cells. These cells are similar to embryonic cells, but in order to get the genes into the cells, a virus must be used.
Be the first to comment on this article!