Cowspiracy, Vegan Potluck, Semester Recap

In mid-December, Veg Club hosted a free screening of the animal rights documentary Cowspiracy, which focuses on the environmental reasons behind veganism. The film was well-received and we had a thoughtful discussion afterward.

Later that week, Veg Club and S.A.V.E. teamed up for an end-of-the-semester party in the form of a vegan potluck! Foods included tator tots, spaghetti with faux ground meat, sloppy joe's, pakoras, hummus, pretzels, chips, chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, bread, and a Tofurky roast! We had a blast hanging out with cats, a turtle and a snail. We also played some games (i.e. truth or dare and never have I ever). Dares included licking the floor, crawling on the floor with a chair balanced on the back, pouring water over the head, and eating strange food creations (you don't even want to know). We also shared our favorite restaurants and our favorite events from the semester. The most popular ones seemed to be our rice and cage demos, as well as our volunteer trip to SASHA. We noted that we felt like a community this semester more so than any other so far.

This semester has been an impactful one! In September, we gave away coffee at Campus Fest, hugged people and danced in a chicken costume for Hug A Vegan Day, and squeezed two people into a dog cage to demonstrate the way factory farmed animals live. In October, we walked in the homecoming parade carrying an environmental-animal rights message, scooped poop and visited animals at SASHA, and put 740 pounds of rice on display to show how many animals are killed for food per day in the U.S. alone. In November, we gave away vegan Thanksgiving food and held our annual Adopt-A-Turkey Bake Sale. In December, we screened Cowspiracy and celebrated together at our potluck. Though at times members were swamped with their own lives and couldn't attend meetings, we still always pulled together as an efficient team for our events. We are proud to have such a dedicated group of activists who fight for animals.

Holly, Veg Club's president for the last three years, will be graduating in the spring, so elections were in order! Congratulations to Paige and Torrey, our co-presidents for spring and fall 2016! We also awarded superlatives to our regular members as follows:

• Holly: Best Dictator
• Paige: Most Dedicated Member
• Torrey: Most Entertaining Check-Ins
• Scott: Longest Running Member + Most Tardy
• Emily: Best Leafleter
• Katey: Biggest Heart for Animals 
• Reanna: Best Cat-Facts Prankster
• Chris: Best Honorary Member +  Rice Hauler
• Bill: Most Spirited Wolf