Bill in Support of the Conscientious Maintenance of Non-Dissection Degree Paths for Virginia Commonwealth University Monroe Park Campus Undergraduate Students

Passed by the Virginia Commonwealth University Student Senate on February 21, 2005 with 0 abstaining,
34 in favor, 1 against, and signed thereafter by Student Body President, Zmarak Khan.

WHEREAS, VCU seeks to respect the ethical and religious beliefs of all students while striving to provide the highest level of educational quality and the greatest breadth of educational opportunities possible; and

WHEREAS, some students find it ethically or religiously objectionable to participate in acts including, but not limited to, dissecting dead animals, conducting invasive experiments on live animals, and/or carrying out any other harmful procedure on animals for educational purposes (with all these examples hereinafter included in the term dissection); and

WHEREAS, such students pursuing a bachelor of arts and/or taking general education (non-science major) biology courses at VCU are officially and publicly offered penalty-free alternatives to dissection (which do not and shall not include watching another student perform dissections, taking a lower grade or dropping the class); and

WHEREAS, students who find it ethically or religiously objectionable to participate in dissection may desire to earn a bachelor of science degree with a major or minor in biology or other science, or to pursue another academic path that may require core biology (science major) courses; and

WHEREAS, VCU does not intend to discourage such students from entering professions in the sciences, or any other field, by requiring them to violate their ethical or religious beliefs; and

WHEREAS, VCU recognizes that such students, if permitted to pursue a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, without ethical or religious compromise, can find a career in the sciences, or any other field, which does not require their participation in practices they find objectionable; and

WHEREAS, the fundamental core biology major lab class, currently known as BIOZ 152L, (the only dissection class of the five-class group which serves as a block prerequisite for all other VCU biology major courses, and the only dissection class required for a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor), as of the spring 2005 semester, now officially and publicly offers students with ethical or religious objections penalty-free alternatives to dissection (which do not and shall not include watching another student perform dissections, taking a lower grade or dropping the class); and

WHEREAS, based on the above stated development, dissection is no longer required at VCU in order to earn a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor;

THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that students of VCU with ethical or religious objections to dissection shall always be afforded the opportunity, without prejudice, harassment, coercion or penalty, to obtain a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, without participating in dissection; and

THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that any changes to the biology curriculum and / or the core requirements for earning a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, will continue to provide unobstructed paths for students to earn such a degree without participating in dissection, specifically that, any class which involves dissection and is required for a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, will officially and publicly offer penalty-free alternatives to dissection (which shall not include watching another student perform the dissection, taking a lower grade or dropping the class); and

THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that any changes to the biology curriculum and / or the core requirements for earning a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, will continue to provide a wide variety of lecture and/or laboratory classes which do not involve dissection; and

THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that VCU Department of Biology will actively strive to investigate and invest in new technologies and educational models which will achieve pedagogical objectives without requiring dissection, and that these investments will be offered as supplements to existing dissection exercises in addition to serving as alternatives for students with ethical or religious objections to dissection; and

THEREFORE, LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that no references appear on the transcripts or in the permanent records of students pursuing a non-dissection bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, that would distinguish them in any way from their fellow students; and

THEREFORE, LET IT BE FINALLY RESOLVED that every reasonable effort be made by the administration to ensure that all students are aware that non-dissection paths exist for a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, including:

- Continuing to include a statement on the BIOZ 101L and BIOZ 152L class syllabi (or any class involving dissection that is required for a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor) that alternatives to dissection are available to students with ethical or religious objections to dissection,

- Continuing to require instructors of the BIOZ 101L and BIOZ 152L classes (or any class involving dissection that is required for a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor) to make a verbal announcement to the class at the commencement of each semester that alternatives to dissection are available to students with ethical or religious objections to dissection,

- Elucidating the existence of non-dissection paths to a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science degree, with any major or minor, in the Department of Biology section of the 2006 and all subsequent VCU Undergraduate Bulletins, in the biology course section of the 2006 and all subsequent VCU Schedule of Classes, and on the VCU Department of Biology website.