WASHINGTON: The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) was voted most vegan-friendly university in the United States, a recent bracket-buster type public poll from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) revealed. Kristi Hobert, a former UCLA student and ardent vegan, told Bikya Masr in Washington that she feels vindicated for all her on campus efforts to promote veganism when she was at the southern California university. “It is a great feeling to be able to email my friends from school and tell them all about what we achieved,” she began. “I am just proud of what UCLA has done for eating and it shows that being vegan can be so successful.” UCLA beat out 31 other schools from across the country in the large-school category in what peta2, the youth version of the world's largest animal rights organization, described as a March Madness-style bracketed competition. One could view the online bracket daily in what students say galvanized efforts to promote their activities. PETA2 director Dan Shannon said “more and more young people are learning that the best thing that they can do for animals, the planet, and themselves is to go vegan.” Hobert hopes that with the crowning of UCLA, other schools that promote vegan efforts will “increase their activities on campus and push for more options at on-campus meals.” BM
