Demand that Baylor School pull cruel "African Safari" hunting auction item!

Ramona Glascock 171 Baylor School Road Development Office Chattanooga, TN 37405 Dear Ms. Glascock, I consider it a true privilege to be a Baylor alumna. Every time someone asks where I attended high school, I feel a strong sense of pride every time I say the name of my alma mater. My education at Baylor involved a lot more than high-caliber academics. In having teachers who truly valued education, I learned to appreciate my intellectual curiosity. Courses such as Mr. Lockrow's Lower School ethics class taught me critical thinking skills, which I use every day in both personal and professional contexts. And, perhaps most importantly, experiences such as the Jamaica Trip and the Jim Pearce Leadership Trip taught me about being a good steward of the environment and helped me develop into someone who sincerely wants and strives to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Something I most assuredly did NOT learn at Baylor is the selfishness and callousness that would lead someone to derive pleasure from killing such majestic creatures as elephants and lions. That's why I was absolutely appalled and disgusted when I noticed the auction item, titled "African Safari," described in the most recent issue of the Baylor magazine. I immediately thought, "Is this really the kind of message we want to send our students, alumni, and donors- that the Baylor community supports, even encourages, participation in such a barbaric and harmful activity?" Surely you are aware that "big game" animals, such as elephants and lions, are facing extreme challenges to their survival because of recreational trophy hunting, loss of habitat and prey, retaliatory killings, wildlife trafficking, and other human-caused and natural factors. Surely you know that the money brought in by the trophy hunting industry does not actually make it to small, African communities. You must also know that eco-tourism-for example, photography-and other ecologically responsible activities involving wildlife, generate vastly more resources for local communities than do damaging, lethal activities such as the hunting of big game. Surely you have also heard that elephants and lions are keystone species- species without whom their ecosystem crumbles. Finally, you must have heard that elephants and lions are intelligent, social creatures, capable of pain and suffering. If you hadn't heard any of the above facts, I encourage you to do some research before you decide if the African Safari really is an item you're willing to promote in your "InspiRed" auction. If you are familiar with these facts but you chose to ignore them in favor of the money that this item could bring in, then Baylor is in a sad state indeed. I have never been the kind of person to resort to ultimatums, but when the stakes are this high, you leave me with no other choice. Either at LEAST consider pulling this item from the auction, or accept the fact that I will no longer attend any of your events or support you in any way (which, by the way, I am now in a financial position to do). You should know that I am already in the process of mobilizing the Baylor community to speak out against your morally bankrupt decision to include this item in your auction. I truly hope that you make the choice that is right for the entire Baylor community and for the world outside your walls. Come on, Baylor. You can do better than this. Sincerely, Megan Knauss Class of 2006