Biology professor elected into Academy of Arts and Sciences
Sarah Gray
f or Ornycn thmtv firwrWt
Working on a computer with a v r<*«m
saver of moving seahorses, crabs am) I rep
eal fish am) studying the mutated embryo
of the zebra fish are only two ways to
describe how science is central to Biolo
gy professor Charles kimmol's life
Kimmel. who was recently elected Into
the Academy of Arts and Sciences, says
ho thinks he Inherited his Interest in biol
ogy from Ins father, who was involved
with the sciences.
"My mother wanted me to be a medical
doctor, and I was always interested in biol
ogy," Kimmel said. "When I was a kid I
was out in the woods a lot. looking under
rock* for hugs."
Being raised in the Bast, Kimmel want
ltd to leavo what ho called "the Eastern rat
rac e" in the JWMK, so ho studied in (Cali
fornia and then came to teach biology at
the University. Being able to work with
George Stroisinger, the professor who
began work on the zebra fish and it the
namesake of Stroisinger hall, attracted
Kimmel to Oregon.
"This work on fish has put Oregon on
the rnap in developmental neurobiology."
Kimmel said ”1 think a good deal of the
n*< (ignition that ! received when I got thi*
award is actually due to George's work and
me tumping in on that, along with my col
leagues' work "
Kimmel began tear hing at the Univer
sity in J069 and feels (hat his many years
of teaching contributed to his award
”!n some sense I'm the team player in
this group and maybe havo been at it a lit
tle longer and maybe was chosen for this
honor at this point because of that," Kim
mat said, "Having this program of study
to try to learn about the development of
this little creature at this University and
me being hen* at the right time and place
to got in on it. that is a good pin e of why
I'm being singled out."
The Atademy of Arts and Sciences was
founded by John Adams in I7B0 and today
has 3.7(g) members, with S50 foreign hon
orary members The members, or "fel
lows.’ come from all areas of at ademia.
including the media, humanities, public
politics, law and a iwu* On# of the goals
of the Academy is to ( ombine the opin
ions and idea* of people from different
aspect* of life to work on solving nation
al and global problems
Kimme! feel* an important area for biol
ogists to study is the extinction of animals
and loss of natural habitats
"I think that biologists have some role
to play in our screwing up the environ
ment/ Kimmel said. "If I get a little bit
of honor and if people [»ay attention to me
more, then i lain blow a horn and say. liiry.
look, here’s the biology side of this, look
at the long-term signals you're sending.”'
Kimmel was generally pleased to learn
of his award, hut he refuses to take full
credit for it.
/
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Sex assault
task force
will rally for
new policies
Colleen Pohlig
Oogon Oit» V [merakt
A new student tusk force,
whic h formed to challenge the
University's sexual assault poli
cies. will rally in the EMU
courtyard Friday at 1 p.m.
Students for a Sexual Assault
Free Environment began meet
ing more than a month ago to
review the University's policies
regarding sexual assault and to
see how they mate h up to state
and federal laws governing fed
erally funded colleges and uni
versities
More spec ificnlly. SAFE
members believe the University
is not in compliance with the
following areas, which are man
dated by the federal Victim's
Bill of Rights
• Universities must inform
survivors of their attackers'
punishment.
• Universities may not use
language that downgrades a
charge of rape.
• Universities must allow
survivors to have legal repre
sentation and character wit
nesses that have been denied
them but allowed to the attack
ers.
• Universities must have
proactive sexual assault aware
ness education available to all
students
Elaine Greene, assoc iate dean
of students and student conduct
coordinator, agreed that the
University sexual assault policy
is not perfect She said she is
willing to work with SAFE
members to review the policies
and come up with acceptable
rules, if any are needed
"l appreciate the group's
efforts in reviewing the poli
cies.” Greene said.
Senior Heather Fowler, who
founded SAFE, said she and
SAF'E memliers only want the
University to have acceptable
policies, which comply with
federal laws and are fair to
women students.
"I see (SAFE'S work] as a sup
portive thing for the
University." Fowler said.
At the march, SAF'E members
plan to present alternative sexu
al assault policies they believe
will address students' concerns
more than the current policies.
Former Sen Tricia Smith will
also speak at the rally, followed
by student survivors who will
share their experiences with
current University policy.