Speaking up for animals is what the Animal Welfare Club is trying to do on campus. A newly-established club (they just began meeting last spring), they have already been successful in raising awareness and support for their causes.
President Rachel Rothstein and Co-Vice President Hannah van der Veken are passionate souls who have dedicated their time to getting McDaniel students involved in this important issue.
This month, the AWC is hosting a series of lectures featuring speakers from the Humane Society of the United States. Ashley Rhinehart, the Public Health Program Manager of the Humane Society’s national headquarters, will be speaking on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 5:45 p.m. in Decker Auditorium on her journey to vegetarianism and animal activism.
“We wanted to create this event, along with the entire series, so that the McDaniel community could hear about animal rights from activists with extensive backgrounds in the animal rights movement,” says Rothstein. She wants to create a discussion among the progressive students at McDaniel College in order to make changes to the ways that animals are treated today.
Other lectures this semester will include Kathleen Summers speaking about puppy mills in the United States and Tami Santinelli who will be talking about animals in the field of law. Both are representatives of the Humane Society of the United States.
Among many issues that the AWC want to address, a few are “factory farming, animal testing, marine mammal slaughter, animal entertainment abuse, and many other forms of abuse.” They have raised awareness and money on campus for these causes and animal rescue through tables and information sessions. They also plan on doing a documentary series.
“It is important to take the time to think about animals, their position in the world, and to reshape our ideas of them,” says Rothstein about the McDaniel community.
“The AWC believes that animals should have the right to live out their lives as nature intended it — free from suffering and pain unnecessarily brought on by humans. We advocate for the idea of working with nature and not against it.”
If you are interested in joining the Animal Welfare Club, meetings are held every Wednesday from 8:30-9:30 in Hill Hall, room 201. Contact President Rachel Rothstein at rr009@mcdaniel.edu for more information. Come support the club at one of their lectures coming up this semester on Nov. 4 and Dec. 3.
