News Item
Earth Desk:"Pace Environmental Clinic’s Elephant Protection Act Becomes Law"
Pace Environmental Clinic’s Elephant Protection Act Becomes Law (Earth Desk)
“It is time society put an end to this barbaric relic of another age.” ~ Pace Professor Michelle D, Land
Forcing elephants to perform in circuses and other entertainment venues has been relegated to a bygone era under legislation originated by students of Pace University’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences Environmental Clinic and signed into law by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The Elephant Protection Act, sponsored by state Senator Terrence Murphy and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, makes New York State the first in the nation to implement an outright ban on the use of elephants in entertainment. Pace students first brought the idea for the bill to the legislature in 2016 and spent the next two legislative sessions lobbying for its passage. The Clinic is co-taught by Michelle D. Land, Pace clinical professor of environmental law and policy, and John Cronin, senior fellow in the Dyson College Institute for Sustainability and the Environment.
“It is time society put an end to this barbaric relic of another age,” said Michelle Land, clinical professor of environmental law and policy at Pace. “Wild elephant populations are in dire straits globally. By recognizing its duty to end entertainment acts that perpetuate misinformation and false values about the species, New York State is setting an example today that we believe other states will follow”
Once again, New York State is proving to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.” ~ New York State Senator Terrence Murphy.
The student clinicians, who actively lobbied in Albany and collected 1,100 student signatures in support of the bill, wrote to the governor, “The contention of circuses, trainers and managers that performing elephants are ‘educational’ is demonstrably false — one has only to attend a performance to understand. Silly tricks such as headstands, balancing on stools, and parading in foolish costumes undermine a child’s appreciation and understanding of wildlife.”
The training of elephants to perform tricks for audiences has come under fire for years, even forcing the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus out of business. New York State law now recognizes that ordinary animal welfare laws cannot protect elephants from an industry whose practices are inherently cruel. At present, as many as nine circuses bring elephants through New York State annually.
Read the full article.
News Item
Colleges With the Highest Student-Mobility Rates, 2014 (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
News Item
A Futuristic Spin on Aristophanes’s LYSISTRATA presented by Pace School of Performing Arts
