Habitat main problem for BU mascots

Oct. 8, 2002

The Baylor Lariat

By James Gibby 

Comparative psychology students at Baylor are deciding for themselves if the allegations of mistreatment of the mascots made by an animal rights group are valid.

The class observed the mascots in the Baylor Bear Pit for one week, and their conclusions and observations were reviewed by their professor, Dr. Susan Spooner of the psychology and neuroscience department.

The controversy gave Spooner's class firsthand experience of observation techniques and theory and a lesson in setting aside emotions for the sake of accuracy.

Comparative psychology is the study of all animals, including humans, in both natural and artificial environments. The student observations were generally consistent; most noted the bears walking, tossing their heads back and forth, standing by the gate and being in the water.

Spooner instructed her class to remain objective, but Laura Geshay, a Houston senior, said that was difficult because the controversy has become an emotional issue. 

Spooner said she had questions of her own concerning the condition and treatment of the mascots that neither side has yet addressed.

'It just hit me,' Spooner said. 'None of these people have data, even [Steve] Hindi [president of S.H.A.R.K]. He has video but no data collected using the scientific method.'

Spooner said student opinion regarding treatment of the bears was split.

'As far as student opinion, I saw three categories: those that just described the data and made no comment, those that thought the data showed stereotyped behavior and those that thought the data did not suggest stereotyped behaviors,' Spooner said.

Stereotyped behavior is defined as a repeated action that remains constant and serves no function.

'I'm not here to jump on either side of the fence,' Spooner said.

'The point of science is to collect data to support or refute a hypothesis. We have to step out of the emotion and examine the data.'

Spooner said she learned of the debate when she returned to Baylor in August.

'It's a good thing that people like Hindi are around,' she said. 'They push things and force discussion causing people to stop and think about what issues are important, and that is the heart of academia -- to question things and draw your own conclusions.'

Whether or not the students identified abnormal behavior, the students came to a consensus on one issue.

'We know the bear is well taken care of,' Geshay said. 'I think [the problem] is mainly the habitat.'

Spooner said most students agreed their observations were limited and the data was inconclusive.