About 20 students stood outside Madison Hall on University Avenue yesterday afternoon to protest against the University's potential ownership of the large binocular telescope, or the LBT project, on Mount Graham, Ariz. Mount Graham Coalition Coordinator Guy Lopez led the group.
Apaches and others claim that the Apaches have a historic and religious right to Mount Graham and that the structure will pose a severe ecological and cultural threat.
"The place is regarded sacred in and of itself," Lopez said.
Occasionally chanting, "U.Va. off Mount Graham," and holding signs saying "Respect Apache territory," the group caught the attention of students walking to and from the Corner.
"We were lighthearted in a respectful manner," Lopez said. "We're not trying to be angry or confrontational."
Astronomy Department Chair Robert T. Rood said the University has an interest in obtaining access to the powerful telescope.
The 10,400-foot tall structure has two eight-meter mirrors, which can spot the fine detail of stars, as well as the Hubbell Space Telescope, Rood said.
About 15 to 20 private institutions are seeking partial ownership of the telescope, and the University is currently negotiating ownership of the telescope for seven nights per year, Rood said.
"The LBT can collect light five or six times faster than the Hubbell," Rood said. "And one of its most exciting prospects is in planet detection."
Before the federal government declared Mount Graham public domain in 1873, it was part of the traditional territory of the western Apache.
The protest yesterday followed a meeting between Lopez and University Provost Gene Block, in which Block told Lopez that the University's "upper echelons" would try to make a decision about investment in the telescope before the end of the semester, Lopez said.
"They need to stop further steps toward being a partner in the observatory," Lopez said. "They need to make that announcement immediately to show their respect."
There are only two eight-meter telescopes in the world that are publicly available, Rood said, which is why the opportunity to have private access to the LBT would be a significant achievement for the astronomy department.
Whereas radio telescopes are readily accessible to the public, optical telescopes like the LBT are owned mostly by private institutions, which makes them inaccessible, Rood said.
"Currently, we have small special purpose telescopes which were designed primarily to measure precise positions of things, but they do not serve the research needs of the faculty or graduate students here," Rood added.
Rood said that any negative environmental impact as a result of the telescope construction has been minimal.
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