The Vegetarian Student Association of Salisbury University is on a path to conquer its campus. Cofounder and President Christopher Wood took some time to answer questions about his group and “kicking the shit” out of KFC. We can’t wait to see how this group develops in years to come!
When was your group started?
I came up with the idea around April this year. By that time, it was too close to the end of the semester to get anything really started, so my boyfriend and I worked on the constitution and formalities of the group in preparing to set up the group this semester. We really started the VSA in mid-September and became a registered student organization at Salisbury University on October 8.
What advice can your group offer other student organizations looking to organize around animal rights at their schools?
Just do it! Get off your ass and connect with people! There are plenty of people you don’t know are vegetarian and would like to get active, but someone has to step up and make the first moves. Have a couple interest meetings and advertise them like mad! Once you have something semi-established, the most important thing is to listen—you can’t have a group about you or you’ll be the only member. It’s also a good idea to take sample polls on campus and see what students care about most. That way, you can go from different angles to try and really reach people and spark their interests!
How are the dining options for vegetarians and vegans on campus?
Surprisingly, pretty good. We have garden burgers, Boca burgers, veggie dogs, an extensive salad bar, tons of fruits and vegetables available on any given day, and ever-changing selections in the bistro dining. I really love how they label everything as vegan or vegetarian. One thing we don’t have is vegan desserts. Our group is really pushing for that now!
What are your favorite resources from PETA/peta2?
I like the videos the best, I think—they’re very powerful and tend to get to people a lot more than anything else. You can talk about the atrocities of factory farming all day long, but actually seeing it kinda hits you hard. My favorite poster is the one with the chicks that says, “We Are Not Nuggets.” It rocks my socks!
Who would win in a soccer game between your group and KFC executives, and why?
Neither. I highly doubt, judging by their practices, they’d play by the rules, so eventually they’d be disqualified. And we’d be kicking the shit out of them, so we’d be disqualified.
Facebook or MySpace?
We’re listed on both to try and reach as many people as we can, but most of the people in our group have MySpace, so I guess I’ll go with that!
Now that you’ve seen what Christopher is up to, why don’t you get going with your own campus activism?
Want to be our next featured group? Sign up for the Street Team now, and tell us what you’ve done to help animals at your school.
