DAILY LOBO new mexico
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January 15, 2013
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Psych exhibit has Scientology roots by John Tyczowski news@dailylobo.com
On Monday, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) opened a display in the SUB alleging the destructive role of psychiatry in peoples’ lives. “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death” is set up SUB Ballroom B and runs through Saturday. The exhibit consists of 150 feet of display panels interspaced by 14 flat-screen TVs showing short documentaries reinforcing the material on nearby panels. There are 12 such traveling exhibits that tour internationally. According to Roshelle Greer, a CCHR volunteer at the exhibit, CCHR was founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Thomas Szasz, but today it is separate from the church. At the same time, many of CCHR’s members are Scientologists, and most of its funding comes from Scientologist backers as well. But Greer stressed the independence of the organization. “We’re not formally affiliated with the Church of Scientology anymore,” she said. “We’re here to bring awareness about this cause. There’s no other agenda.” Greer mentioned how there have been problems at exhibits in the past involving individuals who disagree with the Scientologist roots of the organization. “We have to have security at events, just in case,” she said. A ribbon cutting ceremony including several speakers was held
Monday evening outside the exhibit. CCHR-New Mexico’s lead investigator, Joel Ervin, spoke about the purpose of the exhibit. “We want to shine the light of truth on psychiatry and its sordid history,” he said. One of the main points of the exhibit is the allegation that psychiatrists profit through mental illnesses by first voting on what should be considered an illness, and then by working with pharmaceutical companies to create drugs for those illnesses. “Psychiatry has repackaged human behaviors as diseases in order to sell drugs,” Ervin said. Ervin also said that the medication used to treat these illnesses often leads to selfdestructive behaviors such as suicide. Pat Mena, author of “You’ll Be Fine, Darling,” also spoke and related her personal connection to the misuse of drugs. She spoke about her son, Anthony Mena, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq. Anthony Mena was prescribed 35 different medications for conditions including sleeplessness and anxiety. Pat Mena said it was this overmedication that resulted in her son’s death in his sleep several months after his diagnosis. The University’s policy on free expression and dissent, found in both the Student Handbook and the
see Psychiatry PAGE 5
tuesday
SNOW FALLING ON CACTUSES
Juan Labreche / Daily Lobo Snowfall on the Sandias late Monday night. The University declared a two-hour delay for today due to the inclement weather.
High schooler rips adoption ban by Jim Heintz
The Associated Press MOSCOW — A blind Russian high-schooler’s impassioned criticism of the ban on adoption by Americans has added a new and compelling voice to the chorus of condemnation of the law. Since her Jan. 6 blog entry com-
plaining about the ban, written as an open letter to President Vladimir Putin, Natasha Pisarenko has attracted the wide attention of Russian media and, she fears, drawn the disapproving notice of authorities. The adoption ban, which went into effect Jan. 1, is one of the most controversial moves of the first year
of Putin’s third term in the Kremlin. It was enacted as part of a bill retaliating for a new U.S. law that calls for sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators. But critics say it punishes innocent children by denying them a chance of escaping Russia’s often-dismal
see Adoption PAGE 2
Hindus spiritually cleanse in the Ganges Ritual bathing believed to wash away sins by Biswajeet Banerjee The Associated Press
ALLAHABAD, India — Millions of devout Hindus led by naked ascetics with ash smeared on their bodies plunged into the frigid waters of India’s holy Ganges River on Monday in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins. The ceremony in the northern city of Allahabad took place on the most auspicious day of the Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days. Festival official Mani Prasad Mishra said nearly 3 million people had bathed by late morning and 11 million were expected to enter the chilly water by the day’s end. Over 110 million people are expected to take a dip at the Sangam, the place where three rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati — come together at the edge of Allahabad in North India. There are six auspicious bathing days, decided by the alignment of
see Kumbh
Kevin Frayer
Mela PAGE 5
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 117
Indian Hindu holy men, or Naga Sadhus, run naked into the water at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river, during the royal bath on Makar Sankranti at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India on Monday.
issue 80
/ AP Photo
Afrikaans dance!
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