Animal-rights activists march on campus to end testing
By Dave Salmon
Daily Utah Chronicle - News
Issue: 10/11/04

Led by student Jeremy Beckham, who is furthering his crusade to end animal testing at the U, a host of animal-rights supporters marched across campus on Wednesday from Presidents' Circle to the Medical Center.

About 50 students, animal-rights activists, and police-escort personnel gathered at the bottom of campus armed with posters, banners and megaphones. The posters themselves displayed images of primates and cats strapped in elaborate metal headgear, bearing slogans of, "Could this be your cat?"

"These primates have been proven to have the mental capacity of a 4-year-old child," Beckham said. "The population wouldn't stand for these tests to be done on children, and they shouldn't stand for it to be done on these animals."

The convoy trekked up the stairs and to the door of the Park Building. Beckham was in front using his megaphone, leading the group in chants and yelling the details of injustices being done.

Many of Beckham's accusations focused on U professor Dr. Audie Leventhal. Hundreds of pamphlets were distributed during the march across campus, and the majority of the content of these pamphlets outlined specific accusations against Leventhal.

This pamphlet consisted of segments of reports Leventhal has written describing his past experiments. The literature was not favorable to Leventhal.

"After a brief stint tormenting ferrets, Leventhal finally started to find his life's manifest destiny: torturing our closest living relatives," stated the pamphlet.

The march proceeded through campus to the Union, Legacy Bridge, and the offices of Leventhal. There, Beckham spoke at length attacking Leventhal and challenging him to debate. There was no response.

Leventhal could not be reached for comment.

The last stop for the march was the animal research lab itself where Beckham spoke one last time, and encouraged supporters to put their ears against the door so they could hear the animals inside.This protest comes after a year of administrative litigation in which Beckham, representing himself, won the right to make the records of U animal research public. However, Beckham said this is far from the end.

"Our campaign is constantly escalating. We won't stop until this testing is done away with."

Colleen Gardner, Beckham's mother and an animal-rights activist, agreed.

"Animal testing is a flawed practice that does not produce good medicine. It must be stopped, and we will keep fighting until it is."