By Kimberly Peterson

Arizona Daily Wildcat

On the heels of Tuesday's Mount Graham International Day of Action, the University of Pittsburgh has withdrawn its consideration of supporting the Mount Graham telescope project.

The university's pull-out is the third of the spring semester, following the University of Toronto and Michigan State University.

Nancy White, executive assistant to UPitt Chancellor J. Dennis O'Conner, announced Tuesday that the school will not consider supporting the telescope project, said Josh Knauer, UPitt environmental ethics and policy junior.

The announcement came two hours after more than 1,000 students attended a protest of the telescope project at UPitt, said Knauer, a member of the Student Environmental Action Coalition.

James Maher, an astronomy professor at UPitt, said that the school's astronomy department made a recommendation to the chancellor that the university not become involved with Mount Graham, Knauer said.

The Pittsburgh City Council also passed a resolution Tuesday unanimously opposing UPitt's involvement in the project.

Knauer said he believes UPitt's decision is based "100 percent" on the council's resolution and the protest.

"They decided it wasn't worth it," Knauer said. "They finally have listened to what the community here wants. We hope the UA and Manuel Pacheco will listen to the community outcry that is coming from the UA."

The University of Arizona's SEAC chapter is delighted with UPitt's decision, said a SEAC member, who did not wish to be identified.

"We felt it was the only decision they could make, in light of everything that has happened," he said. "We hope that the UA will soon follow their lead."

But Michael Cusanovich, research vice president, said earlier this semester that UPitt was never seriously considering to support the project anyway.

The UA has until around 1998 to find partners for the Columbus telescope's second mirror on Mount Graham, Cusanovich said. The partners would need to contribute a total of $15 million.

The University of Toronto withdrew its consideration of the project on Jan. 10. Michigan State University did the same on March 16. Read Next Article