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| Katie reports Emily immediately went vegan after receiving a booklet last semester at Queensborough Community College. |
Universidad
Autónoma del Estado de México
is a small campus, but the outreach was amazing.
We each grabbed an entrance, and everybody in
or out got a booklet. Israel also left a few
booklets fanned out at the front desk in the
library and on an info booth; we saw one student
grab one, show it to her friend, and read it
cover to cover. We saw many other people reading
the booklets cover to cover in the main square.
Never seen such a reception!
Outreach in Mexico
has been overwhelmingly successful thus far.
Many, many conversations with people who have
been immediately impacted by the power of the
literature. Prior to our arrival, I had apprehensions
(riddled with excitement, of course) about pioneering
Vegan Outreach’s work here in Mexico. The response,
however, has transcended all my expectations.
Even today, after distributing a booklet to
a young woman, I immediately heard her say,
“Hay que ser vegetariano!” (You gotta
go veg!) And this is certainly not the first
statement of this kind that I’ve heard.
Israel has been
an indescribably amazing host and fantastic
activist. His family has kept us well fed with
delicious vegan Mexican food and tropical fruits.
Bienvenidos a
la revolución, amigos!
—Jeni Haines & Vic Sjodin,
2/9/12
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| Nikki sends this picture of Ashley, who got a booklet six years ago at Laney College and has been vegan since. |
Freezing
cold turning to sleet, but we
had a fabulous day at CUNY Lehman College. New
leafleter Meghan joined me before her classes
at Bronx Science High School, and then Lisa
showed up. We met so many vegans and
vegetarians, handing out a bunch of Guides!
Lisa made a new leafleting contact for us and
also spoke with one girl who had veered away
from vegetarianism but is now going back.
—Katie Pryor, 2/16/12
Fantastic
day of outreach with Johanna,
Matt, and Jenny at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo!
A number of students requested more information
to get on the vegan path. Other great interactions
included a 1-week vegetarian who seemed a little
lost about what to eat, how to get enough protein,
etc.; a nutrition major who has been thinking
about going veg and who wants to get involved
with our outreach; a professor who is interested
in having Matt come to speak to his class. I
had a worthwhile conversation with a guy who
initially thought human overpopulation was the
main problem. I told him about the 9+ billion
land animals in the U.S. who are unnecessarily
brought onto the planet each year and how resources
could be saved if we didn’t raise them to eat
them. When I gave him a Guide, he took
it enthusiastically, started paging through
it and said, “This is just what I needed!”
I also gave him tips on tasty veggie meats to
try. He made his veg pledge so earnestly and
was so grateful for the info, it just made me
smile.
—Barbara Bear, 2/17/12
Such
a positive day of outreach at
Gateway Community College! Small school, but
I reached over 500 students. Several leafletees
expressed outrage at the atrocities of factory
farming, and one woman even began crying and
pledged to go veg on the spot.
—John Oberg, 11/21/11
At
the University of New Hampshire, one
student exclaimed, “You just changed my
life!” I also overheard a woman tell her
friend, “This [booklet] will be perfect
for the paper I am writing.” Later, a different
student also mentioned writing a persuasive
paper against factory farming, and she thanked
me for the information. An ag student came over
and asked me for a leaflet. He said it is interesting
and good information. He called the system “messed
up.”
—Lana Smithson, 11/28/11
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| Jonathan Hussain (L) answers questions at Fresno City College. |
At
St. Louis Community College, one
vegetarian student said they were blessed by
my presence and thanked me for being out there
in the cold. A vegan instructor invited me to
give a presentation to her class. One student
asked me what he could eat if he didn’t
eat meat. Another student said that she found
the booklet disturbing and was going to reduce
her meat consumption. I heard from a student
who is giving a presentation on factory farming
to her class tomorrow. I gave her 25 Even
If You Like Meat booklets for her class.
—Rick Hershey, 12/1/11
Amazing
take rate at Estrella Mountain
Community College – I was there an hour before
I got my first “no.” Phoenix was amazing,
too; together, we reached over 700 students.
One man took a Compassionate Choices early
in the day, and came back hours later to talk
with us. He told us that it only seemed reasonable
to stop consuming animals. I gave him a Guide
and he seemed really excited!
—Kirby Mauro, 11/30/11
After
Westmont College, I reached nearly
1,300 students at UC Santa Barbara. Within my
first 15 minutes, Connor biked up to me saying
his booklet tipped the scales for him this morning,
and as of that second, he’s a vegetarian. Too
cool! Gave him a Guide. A German teacher
stopped back to say how sad the information
was. We chatted about sustainable changes and
how we’re all a part of the system – good or
bad.
—Nikki Benoit, 12/1/11
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| Brian reports that since getting a VO booklet three years ago, this College of Marin student and his girlfriend have been veg. |
At
East Tennessee State, an athletic
dude took a booklet, sighed, and said, “This
is so discouraging.” I asked him what was
discouraging about it and he said that it’s
so sad reading about animal suffering, because
animals are so innocent and helpless. I told
him that I agreed that it was very sad, but
the purpose of the booklet was to be encouraging,
that we could see something bad, do something
good, and play a role in rectifying the situation.
He agreed and thanked me for the information.
Later, a woman
came up and asked about religion. I said our
group consists of devout Christians, followers
of other belief systems, and some who weren’t
men or women of faith. I went on that the great
thing about this cause is that it is – and
should be – embraced by people of various political
and religious beliefs. Moreover, I didn’t think
a merciful God would have given animals the
capacity to feel pain if they were intended
to spend their lives in the conditions that
they now spend their lives, and that our current
treatment was definitely not good stewardship
(a term she appreciated and that resonated with
her). We discussed a number of other things
such as Matthew Scully, the Garden of Eden being
essentially vegan, etc. She appreciated my points,
knowledge of her faith, and my hearing her out.
It was a productive conversation.
—Jon Camp, 12/1/11
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| At Fresno City College, another veg-on-the-spot! |
Leafleting Michelle Obama’s Let’s
Move talk was spectacular! A mostly
African-American crowd leaving the church; we
were literally surrounded by a sea of hands
asking for literature, with some people coming
back for a booklet when they realized what we
were handing out.
—Jeff Boghosian, 2/11/12
Yesterday was our first day of
taking farmed animals’ plight to Mexico. Jeni
and I were joined by our host Israel, and we
reached 400 students at the local high school,
Escuela Preparatoria de Texcoco. To my pleasant
surprise, we found massive interest in the booklets.
Saw dozens reading between classes or walking
and reading. One student came back to us and
said he wanted to volunteer and get involved;
we put him in touch with Israel. Another student
came back and said this was really crazy, he
has been thinking of going veg for a while and
now he will. Another professor or teacher expressed
interest, and we spoke to him for over 15 minutes.
Today: What a
day! We reached 2,200 at Metropolitan University,
and met around 15 people who explicitly told
us they were vegano or vegetarian. A truly ridiculous
number of people were reading as they walked
to and from lunch. Saw a girl on the back of
a bike with long seat holding herself on with
legs while both hands had booklet open and pressed
against her boyfriend’s back and she read as they slowly cruised
down the walkway. Many showed us the booklet hours later, several asked
for more to show friends, and many more came back to get the booklets
when they found out we were distributing them.
Great conversations,
too! Adriel stopped by and we spoke to him for
a few minutes til we handed him off to Israel;
they spoke for 45 minutes, he wants to get involved
locally and I asked if he wanted to help and
boom, instant activist. He stayed and reached
250 students with ¿Por qué vegetariano?
—Vic Sjodin, with Jeni Haines,
2/8/12
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| Another Fresno City College student whose life was changed after being handed a VO booklet. |
From a recent batch of Guide requests:
A guy handed me a booklet
at school, so I read it. I’m glad I did, otherwise
I would have probably never known the shocking
facts. Thank you!
—KJ
I saw a booklet about
the cruelties of factory farming by chance.
It changed my life.
—EP
Was handed a booklet at
Disneyland, and haven’t eaten meat ever since,
trying to do even better than that. :) Thank
you.
—GB
I was on campus and
was handed a booklet. I always wanted to go
vegan I just never knew how to get started.
Thanks so much!
—JP
Received a booklet from
a friend about a year ago. Loved it! Inspired
me to become vegan. :)
—HW
Lori, Lisa, Mike and I had
a very productive day at Foothill College, where
we reached a record 1,623 students (including
handing out an amazing 92 Guides).
The take rate was excellent, and almost everyone
was friendly. I had conversations with omnivores
who were interested in becoming vegetarians,
and vegetarians considering becoming vegan.
One woman said she’d probably be vegan, but
she enjoys baking too much to give it up. She
honestly didn’t know she could bake without
eggs and dairy! I was delighted to give her
a Guide and let her know there are
plenty of vegan baking cookbooks and websites.
Another student wanted to know how becoming
vegan had impacted me personally. I probably
made him late to class with that one. :-) Another
person thanked me for being there. I left feeling
really positive!
—Diane Gandee Sorbi, 11/1/11
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| Jackiie DeLexa Cano answers questions at the College of the Sequoias. |
Citrus College is amazing. This
campus never fails to produce at least one
new vegan with each visit. Today’s was named
Laura, and she was in only one of the three
“spark flying” conversations I had!
—Nikki Benoit, 11/14/11
Great interactions at
the University of West Georgia; e.g., as I was
leaving, a student told me she became vegetarian
because of a VO booklet someone handed her.
I gave her a Guide.
—Rob Gilbride, 11/14/11
Love when you meet someone new
to veganism while leafleting and they are super
stoked to meet another vegan. It’s a good feeling
to know that just by meeting them you helped
solidify their veganism.
—Aaron & Kate, 2/10/12
Superb take rate and
friendly students at the University of North Carolina
at Pembroke. Even most faculty and staff took
booklets. Amazing conversations, too. I told
many students my story about how I became vegan
and that I made the change primarily for animals,
many of whom suffer from the moment they are
born until the day they die in the industrialized
food system. One faculty member took ten booklets
to put on display in his office. Another faculty
member who took a booklet earlier in the day
passed by again and thanked me for the info.
—Brandon Becker, 11/14/11
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| Nikki sends this picture of Brittney Montana, who went vegan last year after receiving a VO booklet, and is now a leafleter (here at the College of the Desert). |
Jessica, Leslie, Diane, Danielle
(making her leafleting debut),
and I reached over 2,000 students at City College
of San Francisco – what a great vegan posse!
I then gave a talk at Sonoma State. The presentation
went on for an hour and after I was finished,
the professor talked to the class about for
a minute while I packed up. She asked the class
how many would be willing to do Meatless Mondays,
and about ¾ of the class raised their
hands. I also found out that one of the most
inquisitive and supportive students in the class
grew up on a ranch. He was the one to pipe up
and say that small farms are not the solution
because of the amount of demand we have as a
nation. He also said he’s worried about
going to his grandparent’s cattle ranch
this week. “It’s going to be weird
being around the animals.”
—Brian Grupe, 11/15/11
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| Brian reports: “Corey got a booklet years ago and went veg. He then got another booklet this August at UC Berkeley and has been vegan ever since.” |
A post to the Adopt a College email list:
Sometimes my posts from the road
don’t list many details, often because I’m tired
after a day of driving and leafleting and because
I’ve actually gotten used to how positive leafleting
is. I’ve gotten used to the surreal drop in
antagonism over the years, the large number
of students who thumb through the booklets and
tell me this is an important issue, the large
number of kids who tell me that the booklet
really got them thinking, that they’re now vegetarian
or vegan (often as a result of our work), etc.
The most important change is often the silent
change – individuals mulling over new ideas
and figuring out how to go forward with the
moral conflict that has been brought to their
attention. So while it would be exciting to
say otherwise, a lot of this work is just getting
out there, getting the right materials in the
right hands, and letting individuals think through
these things on their own terms – which they
do.
As always, I can’t
thank you donors enough for your trust in this
work, your smarts to realize this is important
work that changes society, and your dedication
in working a steady job and setting aside funds
to help ensure a brighter future for animals.
And as I’ve said before, traveling a lot can
be physically and emotionally taxing. But it’s
a lot easier to keep my spirits high when my
inbox is continually flooded by outreach reports
from all of you on this list who really walk
the walk and use your limited time to push the
ball forward for animals.
—Jon Camp, 11/23/11
Absolutely
fantastic acceptance rate at Bakersfield
High School and Bakersfield College. At the
college, a guy stopped to tell me that he had
gone veg after getting a booklet from us at
the Warped Tour a few years ago. He now has
a two-year-old daughter and she has never eaten
meat! Two lives changed from one brochure! Another
guy was listening to our conversation and came
up to me afterwards and said he had done a fast
recently, specifically cutting out meat. He
also had a 15-month-old daughter (random!) and
her nutrition is a top priority for him, so
he got a Guide
as well. Very cool to have these two conversations
back to back.
—Brian Grupe, 2/6/12
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| Cristina Cruz answers questions from a South Texas College student. |
I
was leafleting on the sidewalk
at Morehouse College (a private school), when
a man named Mr. Walkins asked me what I was handing
out. I explained what it was and he said, “I
went to school here with Martin Luther King.
Come on campus, he wouldn’t mind. No one will
bother you, you are with me. I know people.”
He was waving at people, shaking hands and smiling
at folks as I leafleted a bunch of students
(a high school crowd, too). He even leafleted
a few students as well.
—Rob Gilbride, 11/9/11
I
got tons of thank yous at CUNY
Hostos, with students waiting for the booklet
when I couldn’t get to them in time. Many people
who passed the first time only to request the
information from me on their way out. Others
asked for an extra copy to take home to their
children or other family members. One professor
stopped and told me that he showed the film
Food, Inc. in his classroom. After
speaking to him, he spoke to one of his students
right in front of me, telling her about the
horrors of factory farms. One lady didn’t take
a booklet at first but stood and spoke to me
about how much she loved her dog. I explained
to her that I love dogs, too, but my love doesn’t
stop there. After I explained to her why I am
vegan, she took a leaflet and said she would
read it, consider it, and even share it with
her son.
—Katie Pryor, 11/15/11
Tina,
Mary, Jamie, John, Jennifer, and I reached
nearly 1,500 more students at Northern Illinois
University. One woman said that she went vegan
after getting a VO booklet last semester –
sweet! One of Jennifer’s friends took the booklet
after she gave him a hard time for turning her
down; he contacted her that night and asked
for more info on how he could start a vegetarian
diet. Awesome.
—Jon Bockman, 11/15/11
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| Crystal Gordon takes advantage of warm weather at Central Michigan University. |
Cold
but excellent day at Harold Washington
College – very receptive students. Within minutes,
a vegan woman thanked me for the work. A couple
students asked about volunteering. Others stopped
with questions about the booklets, or said they
care about animals and told me they are interested
in moving toward vegetarianism. One girl told
me proudly she just went veg a month ago. I
ran out of booklets at 1:50, having only been
able to bring 1,000 with me on the train.
—Leslie Patterson, 11/16/11
At
Heritage University, I spoke with
a Yakima tribe student who said some powerful
things about how he sees industrial farming
(it’s a nightmare). Other students listening
in as he spoke. Coolest conversation I’ve had
in a while.
—Caleb Wheeldon, 11/15/11
Met
over a dozen vegetarians / vegans
at the University of Minnesota, where Mike,
Sen, and I reached over 1,900 students. Also
met a woman who went veg after getting a VO
booklet before. This was Mike’s first time leafleting.
He did an excellent job and had a good take
rate. He said at first he wasn’t sure if he’d
be able to do it. He tried it and immediately
saw how easy it was to get leaflets into students’
hands. We can definitely expect more from him
in the future.
—Fred Tyler, 11/14/11
At
Miami Dade’s InterAmerican Campus,
there were many moments I wished I had a camera,
as many students stopped in their tracks to
read the booklets. Most seemed to be seeing
this information for the first time, and so
I’m sure many today gave consideration to animals
in a way they had never before. Always such
a great sight to see!
—Yuri Mitzkewich, 11/22/11
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| Emily Vanneman provides the animals a voice at Chico State. |
At
North Carolina A&T State, Markie
got a booklet from me earlier in the day, read
it, and came back and asked if there was any
volunteering he could do. I asked if he wanted
to help me leaflet the campus and he gladly
agreed. Another student came back to say he
got a booklet earlier in the day and was converted.
I heard other comments from those who said it
was “sad” or “interesting”;
I was able to offer a Guide to many
of them, as well as to others interested in
learning more or already vegetarian or vegan.
I had a long conversation with a student who
said she had lots of friends and extended family
members who were vegetarian or vegan but still
wasn’t sure whether she wanted to make the change.
We talked about the sentience of fishes, vegan
substitutes, living in a non-vegan society,
“happy” animal products, etc. She
left with a Guide.
—Brandon Becker, 11/19/11
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| Daniel went veg after getting a booklet at Cal Poly Pomona last semester. |
Tyler, Jenna, Frank, Mike, Austin,
Steve, and I reached 700 young
people in only 45 minutes at the Chinatown Parade.
Even telling people it was a booklet about animal
cruelty, I know we could have reached a lot
more people if we had brought more booklets.
—Kenny Torrella, 1/29/12
I spent my lunch in front of John
Jay College. One woman stopped
dead in her tracks halfway down the block and
read the whole thing right there. I brought
her a Guide
and spoke to her a bit. She seemed very surprised
and concerned about the implications of her
food choices. Another woman doubled back after
receiving her booklet, asking for several more
to give to the young people in her life.
—Lisa Hines, 1/27/12
At Portland State, Cobie, Nettie, and I met a ton of veg students
who are excited to get things moving on this
campus, including two women who hope to work
with the school’s animal rights club, and others
who would like to get leafleting for Vegan Outreach.
I also met briefly with the campus environmental
group, and gave them each an Even If You
Like Meat, and left a stack of Guides
for them. I also met the amazing Jessika,
who has been using the 30 minutes between her
classes to hand out booklets at PSU regularly.
Cobie met a man who wondered out loud how anyone could eat meat after reading our lit. We
agreed!
—Caleb Wheeldon, 11/9/11
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| Another CSU East Bay student is engrossed in learning the truth, after getting a booklet from Brian. |
Good interactions at Oklahoma State,
where I reached over 1,000 students.
One woman told me the booklet would probably
push her to being veg. Reached almost 1,000
again today at the University of Oklahoma, with
loads of good conversations. Met two soon-to-be
vegetarians!
—Jeni Haines, 10/18/11
Cabrillo
College was great! I met Macie
last time there, and she ditched some class
to help out. I presented to Jasmin’s high
school animal rights group a few years ago and
now she goes to Cabrillo. She also got out of
class to help. There are tons of vegans / vegetarians,
but more importantly, there are lots
of students who are not yet veg but who are
very interested in the material. Definitely
had some great conversations.
Before hitting American High School, I had lunch
with my friend and great VO supporter, Keyur.
We are both nuts about being as productive as
possible and like to read a lot about the subject.
We chatted about this at lunch and I have since
been motivated to develop a new strategy to
be as productive as possible with my time.
Today at Cal State East Bay, I handed a VO
booklet to my 300,000th person. It was an awesome
feeling. I like that if someone asks me what
I’ve been doing the last four years I
can point them to my Adopt a College profile
and they can see where I’ve been and what
I’ve accomplished.
—Brian Grupe, 11/4/11
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| Emma Tamayo spreads sunshine and compassion at UC Davis. |
So
very worthwhile to leaflet at
the Chandler-Gilbert Community College! Michael,
Marisol, and I encountered many awesome, receptive
students and reached 750+ in such a short amount
of time. Also a number of already veg. Fantastic!
I very much look forward to reaching out to
more students on this campus. Such a great experience!
—Veronica Soto, 1/19/12
Kara,
Tiana, Javier, Vic, and I brought
our positive attitudes and smiles to UC Berkeley,
and the rewards were great! Despite the cold
and rain – and it being a Friday – we reached
over 1,000 students. I met a young man who received
the brochure last semester and has significantly
reduced his meat consumption. We had a quick
chat and he was excited to receive a Guide.
Vic met a young lady who read the whole Even
If You Like Meat booklet and said she is going
to go vegan!
—Brian Grupe, 1/20/12
An
incredible day at Bronx Community
College, where I reached over 800 students!
I saw so many students reading the
booklet and met numerous people who were interested
in finding out more information, which I gave
them! One girl said she has been meaning to
try to go vegan. One student wanted more booklets
for a paper he was doing. Another student wanted
more booklets for a presentation she was doing
on this topic. It seems like at almost every
school I encounter students who are not only
learning about factory farming, but are also
presenting this information to their classmates!
Amazing.
—Katie Pryor, 11/3/11
A
woman at the College of Southern Idaho asked
me for a copy of Compassionate Choices, having
seen other students with it. She was in Future
Farmers of America, and we had a nice chat about
how awful factory farming is. She plans to be
veg once a week now.
—Caleb Wheeldon, 10/31/11
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| Christine at Chaffey College: “I got one of those last semester. It changed my life.” |
Reached
over 2,000 more students at Rutgers.
I met a nice young lady who got a booklet last
year, is veg and now heads up an animal rights
campus group. She said that “most people
just don’t know,” as was the case with
her.
—Casey Constable, 11/14/11
Quick
but good leafleting at the University
of Chicago, where one of the vegetarians let
me know that it was getting a booklet from us
in the past that moved her to stop eating meat.
—Joe Espinosa, 11/4/11
Great
week in Canada with John, Ali,
and Dave, where we reached 11,152 students at
the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, York
University, Ryerson University, and the University
of Toronto!
—David Coman-Hidy, 11/5/11
Reached
2,150 students at Towson University,
Howard Community College, and CCBC Essex. We
met so many students who are already veg, including
three who went veg from receiving a leaflet
last semester, two of which are now vegan.
—Aaron and Kate, 11/4/11
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| After reading the booklet he got at the MLK parade, this man told Nikki, “Yeah, we wouldn’t like being abused and eaten, either.” |
Wendy
and I had 80%+ reception rate
at Southern Connecticut State. A biology professor
accepted one, took five steps, turned back,
and asked for a bunch to give at the biology
department. Katie and Melissa received pamphlets
on their way to class, and came back when it
was over to help.
—Eitan Fischer, 11/8/11
Cassandre
joined me at the University of
South Carolina, and we reached 2,100 students.
I gave a talk that evening that was well attended
and well received. I’ve been floored by how
little antagonism I receive these days and how
much interest there is for this issue. The times
they are a-changin’!
—Jon Camp, 11/9/11
Teresa
and I met many vegetarians at
the University of Hartford, where we reached
1,482 students. Great, great discussions, including
a professor interested in having us speak to
his class. Best part was when a group of four
students said they had already received a booklet,
and I asked what they thought. One of the girls
turned back and said she just turned vegetarian!
—Karen James, 11/8/11
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| Leslie Goldberg with new friend at CSU East Bay. |
Tonight,
I went out with a few HSUS employees
and interns. I told one intern what I did (college
leafleting) and she let me know that she was
handed a VO booklet back in 2006 at the Auraria
campus in Denver. She not only went vegan as
a result of it, but is now heavily involved
in activism and is looking to do it full-time.
Viva VO!
—Jon Camp, 12/30/11
Better
acceptance than I expected at
the University of Illinois, Chicago, where I
reached over 800 students. Heard from 15 vegetarians
and six vegans. I was pleased to see a wide
range of students were receptive to my request
to help stop violence, including many very large
athletic guys. Also heard from a student who
let me know that getting the booklet from me
two years ago inspired her to drop meat.
—Joe Espinosa, 1/10/12
While
reaching 400 students at the University
of British Columbia, I met one student who said
it was a VO booklet that got her to go vegan!
—John Sakars, 1/12/12
Awesome
at Bellevue College. I chatted
with a young African-American woman who I’d
met on my last visit. She immediately ran up
to me, talked about the Christian
Vegetarian Association booklet I had given
her, and how she was working on going veg. Then
today, after leafleting Seattle U, I was in
the Starbucks across the street and heard two
students discussing their booklet. I chimed
in and encouraged them to look up even more
information online.
—Caleb Wheeldon,
1/11/12
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| Yvonne LeGrice makes the animals’ case at Pasadena City College. |
Spectacular
day with Theo at Sacramento State!
We were joined by Emma, a new vegan we had met
Tuesday at Sacramento City College. She took
to leafleting like a pro, and had many positive
conversations with interested folks. Two members
of Sacramento Animal Rights also joined us.
I had one of the most positive, intense conversations
of the semester with a young lady I saw reading
the booklet three different times. I finally
stopped her to ask her what she thought, and
we spent the next 15 minutes talking about everything.
Today, I can’t
even describe the feeling I had while walking
to my car after reaching over 900 students at
Sierra College! Progress by tremendous leaps
and bounds at this school in the past four years!
Great conversations with interested and aware
people; got a massive hug from a young lady
who loudly proclaimed that she was vegan and
loved me.
—Brian Grupe, 10/31/11
Thanks
to Jeff for getting us permission
to leaflet Phoenix College, where Kirby and
I met with 80–90% acceptance and reached almost
1,500 students. I spoke with a woman who expressed
her love for animals. She was given a Guide
and was quite moved. I also reiterated that
utopian farms don’t exist and going veg isn’t
as extreme as it seems – it’s simply applying
values she already has to her eating habits.
—John Oberg, 10/31/11
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| Matt Zavortink reaches out for the animals at UC Davis. |
811
students at the University of
Nebraska, Omaha got Even If You Like Meat
booklets; also handed out 12 Guides,
including some to vegetarians interested in
veganism. One guy came back and asked, “Do
the pigs have it the worst? Cause I can stop
eating pork.” When I told him that chickens
and pigs had to endure the worst cruelties,
he said, “OK, that’s something I can work
with.” We talked about how he could start
transitioning to a more plant-based diet. I
gave him a Guide – he was excited
to try some new meal ideas.
—Fred Tyler, 11/1/11
Mike
and I had some good reactions yesterday
at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. One
of our friends from the Green Club said she
heard a girl in the cafeteria discussing the
booklet with her friend, proclaiming, “Well,
I’m going vegetarian now.” Talked to two
older men who initially made jokes about chicken
fingers when they received a Compassionate
Choices, but then opened up more as I kept
a friendly tone while talking to them. One of
these guys then said, “Well, keep up the
good work and I’ll remain sympathetic to your
cause.” A step forward for them! Another
guy held up the booklet and smiled at us as
he walked away, “I totally agree with this!”
We also met a student who wants to help us hand
out booklets.
—Jenni Moody, 11/2/11
Spoke
to a bunch of vegans, vegetarians,
and loads of interested people. Great conversations
with cat / dog people. One of the vegetarians
I met told me she went vegetarian because of
getting a Compassionate Choices leaflet!
—Chris Parrucci,
11/3/11
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| Lisa Towell helps a Stanford student learn how to lead a meaningful life. |
Good
talks at the University of Delaware,
where we reached 3,400 students. One student
that we leafleted came back to us later in the
day and said she is going to try vegetarian.
Another student said he went vegan after reading
a Compassionate Choices last semester!
—Aaron and Kate,
11/3/11
After
we reached 1,625 students at the
University of Texas, Arlington, we took an amazing
field trip to the unbelievable vegan cafeteria
at the University of North Texas in Denton. The
food was absolutely amazing, and there are beautiful
and inspiring pro-veg messages decorating the
walls. I seriously could not believe it. (Huge
variety of delicious cooked foods meant I didn’t
even look at the salad bar; two types of vegan
pizza, one with pesto and one with Daiya; vegan
rice krispie treats and soft-serve ice cream…incredible.) The UTA students
hooked up a dinner tour and meeting with their dining services
folks, who are incredibly helpful and kind and
willing to work with students and other school
cafeterias to help them get more vegan options.
I asked him how it happened that UNT now has
an all-vegan cafeteria, and he said it was really
because students were requesting it. When you
meet supportive students in your outreach, I
encourage you to mention to them the importance
of filling out comment cards, meeting with the
dining services and organizing with other students
to get more vegan options. If they can do this
in Texas, they can do it wherever you’re leafleting.
—Nora Kramer, 11/3/11
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| A shopper is engrossed in learning the truth after getting a booklet from Nikki. |
Nine
of us reached 2,440 more people
at Phoenix’s Art Walk! Several people said,
“Your booklets already made me veg!”
Another couple wanted to start leafleting with
us. Michael joined us for the first time. He
recently went veg after having to re-roof a
factory farm for work. He said the things he
saw were so traumatic he had to take the rest
of the day off and instantly went veg.
—Rachael Plotts, 1/6/12
Theo
and I set records at both Sacramento
City College and Franklin High School – nearly
2,500 students reached today. I had so many
conversations at SCC, insanity. We’ve
made such progress at this school in the last
four years. I remember whole days of never meeting
even one vegetarian; today we met close to 40
vegetarians / vegans and even more on their way
towards it.
—Brian Grupe, 10/26/11
The
University of Mississippi was
one of the most positive leafleting experiences
I’ve ever had! The response was wonderful, and
I met so many people who were genuinely interested
in our message. I even got invited to go speak
to a food policy class, so I jumped on the opportunity
and had an amazing conversation with the students.
Students were so engaged that I ended up speaking
for more than twice my allotted time in order
to answer all the questions. The professor is
really interested in Vegan Outreach, even though
he comes from a family who raises cows for beef.
I had such great feedback, and when I left,
everyone was profusely thanking me for coming
to their class and telling me how much they
loved hearing about these issues. Seriously,
it was one of the most productive, proactive
conversations I have ever had.
—Jeni Haines, 10/26/11
At
Foreman High School, I had a chat
with one of the deans of the school, who also
happened to head an “animal club.”
She took booklets to distribute to the club
and in class. A most worthwhile morning!
—Jon Bockman, 10/26/11
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| Nikki Benoit reports, last Wednesday at Santa Monica College, Mario went veg on the spot, and then helped change more lives! |
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Can you
guess the topic I chose for my
persuasive speech? It went really well, talked
for about six minutes about animal cruelty on
factory farms. I held my kitchen knife up and
said if you wouldn't take this knife and slice
the throat of a cat or dog then ask yourself,
why do it to 27 chickens a year when there are
vegetarian versions that are just as good, protein-packed
(earlier there was a bodybuilding classmate
telling us to eat more chicken), and
available at virtually every grocery store?
I’ve already had one-on-one conversations with
5 of the 19 other people that were in class
yesterday, so of the 14 other people in class,
all but two eagerly took a Guide
and VegPhoenix restaurant guide! About a month
ago I did my informative speech on factory farming,
and it turns out my professor has been vegetarian
since!
—John Oberg, 10/27/11
Lisa and
I had an amazing day at Queensborough
Community College, where we handed out 1,567 booklets
(including 17 Guides). Spoke with many
interested students, including three specifically
interested in going vegan, and three others
interested in helping leaflet.
—Katie Pryor, 11/1/11
Very high
reception rate at Indiana University
at South Bend. An older student said getting
a booklet from me last year moved him to stop
eating meat.
—Joe Espinosa, 11/1/11
Whoa!
Unexpected delights at Cornerstone
University and Calvin College! Hanna happily
mentioned going vegan after getting a booklet
last year from me. One student asked: “Are
you from Vegan Outreach too?” and gave
me a big hug. He had also hugged and thanked
Mara earlier. At Calvin, I was stopped by an
assistant pastor; we talked for maybe 20 minutes.
He said a few people were disturbed by the pictures,
so I had to whip out the instant classic, “If
it’s not good enough for your eyes, why is it
good enough for your stomach?” He surprised
me and asked for booklets for his reading group.
—Vic Sjodin, 10/28/11
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| Joyce Gibbler answers questions at CSU Stanislaus. |
Pretty
cold day at Idaho State. One woman
called me a blessing in disguise, as she has
been thinking about going vegetarian. I gave
her a Guide and the address of the
local natural food store, as well as the name
and address of a local diner with a good veggie
burger. A young ecology student told me he has
been thinking about his diet’s impact on the
planet but that he loves steak; so I encouraged
him to try being vegan except for steak, which
he said he’d try. I also spoke with two students
who declared that they were going to try Meatless
Mondays and skipped off to see what the dining
hall had coming up. So cool!
—Caleb Wheeldon, 10/28/11
Northeastern
Illinois University was awesome! The
students were very receptive, hardly any negative
comments, and lots of good conversations. I
talked to one guy who used to be vegetarian
who said he wanted to get back into it since
his mom is more veg-friendly now. Danyelle had
a good conversation with a professor, and one
professor yelled back to me while walking away:
“Thank you, I’m about to lecture on this!”
I also connected with two different people from
the campus radio station who both expressed
interest in interviewing me, so that was great.
—Kenny Torrella, 11/1/11
I
just got your fantastic booklet
from a young man at school today. What was contained
within shocked and disturbed me, and really
opened my eyes. Thanks a lot – you’re really
reaching out to stomp ignorance.
—ES, 12/16/11
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| Cici Ellis opens another heart at the University of Texas San Antonio. |
An
amazing day at CUNY York, where
Chris and I reached over 1,400 students. Many
people came back and asked for a booklet, or
copies to give to friends. We saw countless
students reading the booklets as they waited
to cross the street. We also received plenty
of kudos for being there.
—Katie Pryor, 10/25/11
At
Glendale Community College, John,
Kirby, and Anon had amazing conversations with
folks and one of the best days for outreach
this fall in the Phoenix area – nearly 2,000
more students reached. Several people pledged
to go veg and countless more said that they
are going to reduce their meat consumption.
—Jeff Boghosian, 10/28/11
At
the University of Houston, my
brother Marc and I reached 1,377 more students;
I will return home without a single booklet!
In the last four weeks, with amazing volunteer
help, 26,107 students were given a booklet at
20 different schools. Thanks a million to everyone
on this list who housed me and leafleted with
me.
Also, I can’t
thank you donors enough. VO’s work isn’t the
most glamorous, but neither are most of the
things that ultimately do the most good for
others, and you understand this. When I started
working for VO, I was the sole traveling leafleter.
It’s been amazing to watch our program grow
with each passing year, to the point that we’ve
got multiple people on the road at any given
point, at the very least hitting about every
state each semester, saturating many of them.
There are so many more students we need to reach,
but we’ve come a long, long way, totally due
to your unwavering devotion to this work.
Lastly, thanks
so much to everyone who plugs away, week after
week. I draw so much inspiration from all of
you. Leafleting for hours on end, traveling
long distances, using vacation days, not always
knowing what type of people we’re going to be
dealing with but being strong and having faith
in a better world and getting out to reach out
to people anyway. This is not easy, it can be
exhausting, but you do it because you know that
there is a great injustice going on and you’re
willing to give your all to help right this
wrong. The world is so much better because of
your tireless work, and I have the utmost respect
for all of you.
—Jon Camp, 10/26/11
More selected feedback available here.
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Vegan Outreach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the suffering of farmed animals by promoting informed, ethical eating. All donations are tax-deductible. Vegan
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