And this little piggy had Babycakes...and veggie caviar?

Shirley Shangguan Staff Writer

The Vassar Animal Rights Coalition (VARC), a student-run group dedicated to education about animal rights issues, is gearing up to provide vegan students with their annual seasonal reprieve from the vegan stir-fry station. In lieu of the vegan Thanksgiving feast they have hosted in previous years and in honor of International Animal Rights Day on Friday Dec. 8, the group will be holding a screening of the movie Babe, the story of a talkative piglet that is saved from the slaughterhouse and realizes his sheep herding dreams, from 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. in the Main Building Multi-Purpose Room. Students who attend the event will enjoy an array of vegan hors d’oeuvres.

“As a vegan, I wanted to heighten awareness of animal rights issues and promote veganism on Vassar campus,” said VARC Co-President Sarah Brown ’09. “I’d like there to be more vegans on campus!”

To put together the entirely vegan menu (which requires food to be free of animal-based cooking staples such as eggs, poultry, dairy, honey, or fish), VARC out-sourced certain dishes from local restaurants. Brown arranged for the restaurant Babycakes to prepare a vegan vanilla cake for the occasion, something not regularly offered by the popular coffee shop. Babycakes substituted banana where the recipe called for eggs, which helps bread rise. In addition, where butter was used, a smaller portion of oil was substituted. Popular mediterranean restaurant Zorona is providing baklavah, hummus and babaganough, a dish made of blended eggplant. VARC is also serving vegan caviar made of seaweed called caviart. The All-Campus Dining Center is contributing hummus, vegan spring rolls and veggie wraps for the event.

Founded over 20 years ago as the Vassar Animal Rescue Coalition, the organization was originally dedicated to finding homes for abandoned animals on campus. In one of its most memorable initiatives, the group sat naked in front of cages in front of Blodgett Hall in the 1980s (animals were then kept in the basement for psychology experiments) to protest animal testing.

These days, the group participates in animal-related volunteer events. Most of the money that VARC raises is used to spay and neuter abandoned animals and place them in shelters where they can have a chance to find loving families to take them in. VARC Co-President Diana Whitney ’08 described VARC’s mission as the promotion of general appreciation for animal rights without offending others.

For next semester, VARC is trying to bring to campus Peter Singer, a Princeton University professor, esteemed animal rights activist, and author of the book Animal Liberation. VARC is also planning a vegan bake sale and wildlife awareness event, working with Guide Dog (a local group that trains guide dogs for the blind), organizing a fundraiser for Catskill Animal Sanitary, and promoting dissection alternatives such as computer programs for Vassar science classes requiring the study of animal anatomy.