Spring is here. We are only eight months away from the 2009 ASH Annual Meeting in the city of New Orleans.
As some of you may know, last summer the state of Louisiana passed the Louisiana Science Education Act, which allows teachers to “use supplemental textbooks” in the classroom to “help students critique and review scientific theories.” Scientists denounced the law as a back-door effort to sneak creationism into the classrooms. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and 94 to 3 in the House, and Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the bill into law last June — despite warnings that it could harm the state’s reputation.
In response to the law, the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, formerly the American Society of Zoologists, announced in February that they would not hold their 2011 annual meeting in New Orleans; they will be holding their meeting in Salt Lake City. However, while the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology has pulled out of New Orleans, Experimental Biology 2009 will still be held there in April. This meeting serves as a joint annual meeting for the American Association of Anatomists, the American Physiological Society, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Investigative Pathology, the American Society for Nutrition, and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. In addition, the American Association of Blood Banks will be meeting there in late October.
I feel that, in the face of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology canceling their meeting in protest of the law passed last summer, I should comment on ASH’s intent to have our meeting in New Orleans. I would like to emphasize that we celebrate the rejuvenation of New Orleans and that we are delighted to support the city in its efforts to come back from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. However, we are concerned about the message that this law sends about the state of Louisiana and its willingness to undermine the teaching of and commitment to science. As a scientific organization, we cannot support such regressive thinking and will have to examine carefully our future commitments within the state. It would be unfortunate if this law were to jeopardize our presence in the city in the future.
By holding the 2009 ASH Annual Meeting in New Orleans, we are bringing a city much-needed business to their convention center, hotels, and restaurants. New Orleans has made great strides in the recovery effort, but there is still more that needs to be done. Having more than 20,000 individuals congregate in New Orleans in early December will stimulate their economy and workforce.
So, mark your calendar! We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans on December 5-8, 2009. Look for more information on the ASH Web site in the coming months.
