To the Editor:

I am writing this letter to inform you of how extremely disappointed I am at our university’s actions toward the Ohio State Chimpanzee Research Center. The Chimp Center is the main reason I am at OSU.

When I was a sophomore in high school I watched a show on the Discovery Channel about Dr. Sally Boysen and her research with chimpanzees. During the show I told my mom, “That is what I want to do for a living.” My mom gave me a strange look, although she knew I had been interested in primate research for several years, and told me to find out where that research was being conducted.

When I saw the research was being conducted at OSU, I found out as much as I could about Boysen and her work. When I did my college search, I remembered the amazing primate research at OSU. I knew that being from New Hampshire would make going all the way to Ohio difficult and expensive. Knowing that OSU was committed to its research program, however, helped me make the decision to attend this university.

This quarter I was lucky enough to take Boysen’s class, Psychology of Monkeys and Apes (Psych 624). This is, by far, the best class that I have taken at OSU. I think Boysen’s class is informative as well as interesting. As a freshman, it is exciting to take a class with a professor who has such great knowledge about the subject they teach as well as being able to read about your professor in your textbook.

In today’s society, it is harder to do research on animals, let alone primates. That is why the research that Boysen does with these chimps is so special. Her work has allowed us to look deeper into the minds of our closest evolutionary cousins. I have personally witnessed these special animals willingly participate in her studies. Boysen’s work has helped us understand not only chimps, but ourselves through comparisons with child development as well as cognitive studies.

The chimps at the OSU Chimp Center are not normal chimps. These chimps are problem-solving, tool-making animals, capable of spelling, reading, counting and adding. These chimps are important members of the psychological community. One of these chimps, Sarah, was one of the chimps used in the first psychological experiments. Sharper and Emma, who are only six years old, are just beginning to show the psychological community what they are capable of doing.

Not only do I disagree with the closing of this research center, but I am appalled by the manner OSU officials went about closing it. Organizing a meeting with Boysen while officials raided the Chimp Center seems more like a military operation than a move by a prominent university simply because of funding. Also, prohibiting Boysen from entering the facility to make sure the chimps were being cared for properly also shows an enormous lack of trust for a dedicated staff member.

I think the university has a point saying they lack the proper funding to continue this research, but the university should also show a little tact. I am sure there is reasoning behind these actions, but why not allow Boysen to finish up her studies until the end of Spring Quarter and then asking her help to move the chimps to their new home at Primarily Primates?

OSU prides itself in claiming that it is a research university, not just another state school accepting mediocre students. If OSU is so committed to its research, why doesn’t the school re-evaluate its priorities and re-invest in its unique programs. Not many of the research programs on campus make money the same way the football program does, and this is certainly something with which a research university must deal. If a school is going to pride itself on this fact, however, it must be prepared to stand behind its research and researchers.

OSU is a school of higher learning, but one thing unique about this school is that it is committed to educate not only its students, but the entire world. I urge you not to let this research program end in this way.

Amy HansenFreshmanPsychology