By Kajal Gheewala
A poster exhibition titled “The Animal Liberation Project” portraying the ethics of animal profiteering caught the eye of many University students crossing Memorial Quad on Monday and Tuesday.
The exhibition has been touring college campuses across the nation, sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and PETA2, the youth version of the organization.
PETA’s visit to the University was organized by the Student Organization for Animal Rights (SOAR), headed by sophomore Brian Shoicket.
The visit included guest lectures in classes such as religions of India and introduction to ethics.
Although PETA sponsored the exhibition, the organization has no connection to SOAR beyond providing educational material. “SOAR and PETA, as long as I am president, will never be affiliated,” Shoicket said.
Twelve large posters adorned Memorial Quad, depicting images of animal and human suffering coupled with famous quotes from historical figures such as Charles Darwin and Martin Luther King Jr.
The goal of the exhibition is “to get students to recognize that animal rights is one of the most important social justice issues of our time,” said Sangeeta Kumar, the chief humane educator for the PETA education department.
“Today we justify animal oppression the same way we did in the past with human oppression.”
About 95 percent of students that visited the display were receptive to the information about factory farms and the conditions under which animals are kept, Kumar said.
“Everyone who took the time to see it… it got them to think,” said Shoiket, adding that, “It’s just not something you can force upon them.”
She and her fellow PETA representatives brought various pamphlets and vegetarian starter kits to hand out to students as well as PETA’s “I’m not a nugget” mascot: a large, yellow chick, which lingered outside the Student Center Monday afternoon.
Included in the handouts were vegan and vegetarian eating guides for campus created by Shoicket. “There’s a lot of stuff you don’t necessarily know about-it’s one of those things it doesn’t really hurt to have,” Shoicket said.
“I was very impressed with the amount of vegan options offered on campus,” Kumar said.
Although Kumar observed receptive students with positive attitudes, many remained opposed to PETA’s practices and ideas.
“PETA argues that as humans we must ask ourselves ‘Who do we think we are that we can claim ourselves superior to animals and choose to eat them?’ PETA has euthanized over 14,000 animals since 1998 because they were considered ‘unwanted.’ What gives PETA the right to decide?” said graduate student Joseph Martin.
That statistic lauded by Penn and Teller’s since cancelled Showtime television series, which condemned PETA for hypocrisy and shock tactics.
“The pamphlets they pass out are just gross. I don’t need to see a picture of a chopped up pig right after I eat at Bits-n-Bytes. It’s really just not called for,” said freshman Kate Barnard.
Kumar, however, argued that her organization’s main purpose is education. She said she loves meeting college students because they are at an age at which they can make their own decisions about what they eat and buy.
“We do not force the information upon anyone, but a lot of students come up to us and ask for help, so we give them the information and send them in the right direction,” Kumar said.
As for the resistance against the exhibition, Kumar adds that it is a sensitive issue because it challenges people’s lifestyles. “People either thank us or don’t and just do not wish to know the truth,” she said.
Students browse SOAR’s exhibition of PETA posters on Memorial Quad.