Opponents of a possible UT System bid to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory had their first chance to speak directly to the Board of Regents at a meeting Friday.
In a rare move, Chairman James Huffines allowed a state legislator, a student and two peace activists to argue against System management of the New Mexico lab. The four spoke for a total of about 25 minutes, shortly after Chancellor Mark Yudof gave a speech in support of a bid.
Yudof said weapons research constitutes only a small part of the facility's interests, and the System would be doing a service to the country by operating the lab.
"Los Alamos is not, as some suggest, a bomb factory," Yudof said.
But he said he was sensitive to those who oppose the bid because of moral or religious objections to weapons.
Austin Van Zant, a member of opposition group UT Watch and the only student to speak at the meeting, said Yudof's remarks were more balanced Friday than in the past.
"This was the first time I'd heard him mention nuclear weapons," Van Zant said.
Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, said the System has not been open and honest in its exploration of the bid, and called a letter that the System sent to state legislators "one-sided propaganda."
"The document is prejudicial and premature," he said. "Has the decision already been made?"
Burnam urged the board to call an open forum to discuss the positives and negatives of the bid, saying UC has done a better job listening to student opinions while weighing its own decision to bid.
Richard Smalley, recipient of the 1996 Nobel prize for chemistry and a researcher at Los Alamos, reiterated Yudof's claims and spoke about the benefit of non-weapons work at Los Alamos.
"Los Alamos is one of the great scientific temples in this country," he said.
Stefan Wray, a member of UT Nuke Free, said the lab produces devices used at the core of the Navy's Trident II nuclear missile.
"What you're hearing is pointing out the science," he said. "But 94 percent of funding goes toward weapons research."
Karen Hadden, chairwoman of Peace Action Texas, said the System should not bid, because Los Alamos has a history of security problems, and the System would be liable if the problems continue. She cited reports that security officials halted work at the lab Thursday as they searched for classified data that was discovered missing July 9.
"I'd like to think there's no way we could do a worse job than UC has done," Burnam said. "But that's not the most important question."
At a press conference held before the meeting, the Rev. Jim Rigby, of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, said he objected to the bid because of the moral problems with what he called "weapons of mass destruction."
"Universities are supposed to be about the public pursuit of truth and not secret military research," he said.
The board did not directly respond to the speakers' objections, but read letters from several local politicians supporting a bid, including U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
"This partnership would apply the UT System's proven ability in academic science to the important national objective of nuclear research and development," Hutchison said in her letter.
The board took no action at the meeting, and has said that a final decision on a bid will not be made until the fall.
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