Animal Experimentation at New York UniversityThe use of animals for medical experimentation and education is a controversial topic that often leads to heated debate. The issues are complex, but the suffering and waste involved in animal testing are painfully obvious. Vivisection, the act of cutting up a living animal, has led the country into countless scientific dead ends, while diverting funds and attention from more applicable scientific research. The practice of animal experimentation at NYU continues, not because it has proven to be an accurate and reliable means of research (which it has not), but rather because of tradition and promoting those with strong interests (i.e. Lynne Kiorpes). These values ​​have recently sparked a number of protests and investigations at an institution called New York University. On October 10, 2000, a protest in Washington Square Park reignited an issue that NYU had been dealing with since late 1997, a debate that the university was wrong to use macaque monkeys for scientific research. An excerpt from the University Press read: "Kelly Osborne and Shawnee Alexandri rappelled down the west side of the main building, carrying a huge banner that read: 'NYU Labs Are on a Kill'" (Amon 1) . The students claim that the research, led by Lynne Kiorpes, tortures baby monkeys and produces no advances that could save or even improve human lives (Animal Testing Labs Come Under Fire Again 1). Dr. Marjorie Cramer called Lynne Kiorpes' work “outdated, using outdated techniques” (Gazzola 1). His research was cited by an editor of the Washington Square News as “meaningless and destructive” (1). Lynne Kiorpes, director of the New York University Research Laboratory...... middle of article ......mal Taxpayer-funded laboratory. Equally disturbing are NYU's efforts to punish students and faculty members who provided information about abuses in the university's animal laboratories (Finsen 42). Scientific facts can be taught to medical students using demonstration techniques. New York University's medical school, which allows students to "practice" on living, healthy animals, could teach future doctors to be devoid of compassion. Doctors are seen as caring individuals, but vivisection during the training process can desensitize them to the pain they cause and teach them to put ethics aside. There is no reason for NYU to use monkeys for experimentation and demonstration. Acceptable alternatives are available and should be implemented, saving lives and millions of dollars in federal funding, paving the way for a humane society..