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UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES IT WILL NOT BE INVOLVED IN TELESCOPE
By John B. Moore, Staff Writer
After a day of protest and a [Pittsburgh] City Council
resolution stating objections to the University of Pittsburgh's
involvement in the Mt. Graham telescope project, the University has
announced it is not involved with the project, according to Josh Knauer,
a Mt. Graham Coalition activist.
Pitt announced over a year ago that it was considering
involvement with the University of Arizona on the Mt. Graham project.
Opponents to the project said the location of the telescope,
about 100 miles northeast of Tucson, is home to the endangered Mount
Graham red squirrel and a sacred site for the San Carlos Apaches.
Knauer said, "The assistant to Pitt Chancellor J. Dennis O'Connor
announced...[the university] is not involved in the Mt. Graham Project,
and I have no reason to believe it is considering involvement."
Pitt is one of many universities opting not to get involved with
the Mt. Graham project.
"The University of Arizona has admitted they do not have the funds
to complete their third telescope," said Knauer.
Cyril Hazard, a Pitt astronomy professor, said, "It seems to me that
there's a lot of misunderstanding about [the project]."
The university never invested money, and the astronomy department never
set forth specific proposals, only recommendations, according to Hazard.
Hazard said the university has not given up its quest to find a
telescope to invest in. "We have given our opinions [on other projects],
but there will be no movement in the near future."
Commenting on the university's decision not to invest in the Mt.
Graham project, Pitt student Matt Peters said, "I have lived here for over
10 years, and I am a student at the university. I am glad to see Pitt
made such a wise decision."
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Lisa A. Mitten 207 Hillman Library
Social Sciences Bibliographer University of Pittsburgh
FAX: 412-648-1245 Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Internet: lmitten@vms.cis.pitt.edu 412-648-7723
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"Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself
from one place to another."
(from THE PITT NEWS, student paper at the University of Pittsburgh)
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