Okay, okay, so a bunch of you have emailed us and complained about us being too LibNow-centric and not talking up enough about the Demand Liberation regional action conferences.

Of course that’s just because the Liberation Now! national conference is the first of the six conferences that we are doing this year. You’ve certainly been hearing more about LibNow because it’s coming up so soon! (THIS WEEKEND!) 

Believe us, you’ll be sick of hearing about the Demand Liberation regional action conferences as soon as LibNow is over.  (Just like how you may be already sick of hearing about LibNow right now.)

And really, just between you and me (and the whole rest of the world with internet access ), we’re actually bigger fans of the Demand Liberation regional action conferences than the Liberation Now! national conference.

Why?

Well, while the LibNow national is all cool and great and all, at the Demand Liberation regionals we actually get to meet almost everyone at the conference and everyone at the conference also gets to meet with everyone else who are attending the conference. The regionals are smaller so we can actually get to know everyone. LibNow is way too big and has too many attendees for us to do that – though we of course certainly try.

Also, the Demand Liberation regional action conferences feature programs that are much more focused and more action-oriented so folks can go through a bunch of super rad workshops to really delve into the nuts & bolts of organizing for animals.

Our favorite thing at the regionals though, is definitely the Regional Action Planning Meetings where activists sit down and chat with each other and share their knowledge and ideas for action and get to learn more about what everyone else is doing at their schools and in their communities.

Really, really, we’re so totally looking forward to them. We can’t wait to be in Austin, Boston, Philly, Gainesville, and Minneapolis! These are all cities that the Student Animal Rights Alliance has never organized events in! And we’ve already gotten an incredible, incredible response Yay!

Oh, and of course, as always, we really, really could use your help! With six conference in six different cities all over the country, we’re sure you can imagine how crazy it is for us to do the promo’s. Please, please, please help us spread the word about the conferences. We’ll love you forever! *smooch*

Visit http://www.DemandLiberation.com , pick your city, and go to “Help Us” to learn more about what you can do to help us spread the word! Thanks yo!

And also, super duper thanks to the two of you so far who’ve signed our guestbook! That’s sooooo sweet! Thanks!!!!

Oooh, we just finished with the new design of our main website – www.defendanimals.org – check it out and tell us whatcha think!

LibNow is just around the corner, please help us spread the word! A super new exciting feature that we added is for folks who are planning on attending LibNow to sign up for our TxtMob - it’s a super cool service that will allow us to broadcast text messages to all the conference peeps’ cellphones. That will allow us to easily do mass organizing on site at the conference, letting people know exactly what’s up when and if something comes up. Super high tech, eh?  Make sure to sign up if you are going to be at LibNow! This is *just for folks* who will physically be at LibNow, all the updates will only be relevant to folks who are going to be there.  

We think we deserve mad props for that TxtMob feature!

Surely, don’t forget about the Demand Liberation conferences which are also not too far around the corner and RIGHT AFTER LibNow! – www.DemandLiberation.com

Lastly, folks really, really should sign our guestbook here on xanga! We have no guestbook entries!

Today, we’re contacting all the folks who’ve applied for travel grants to attend our Liberation Now! national
conference in Berkeley. We’ll be telling them one of three things: 1)
Their application is approved, 2) Application is on waiting list status
in case of cancellations or additional funding, or 3) Application
denied. It’s probably the hardest thing to do year after year – trying
to decide who gets their travel grant apps approved and who doesn’t.

This year, we received over 40 applications on behalf of 87 individuals
(some applications are for individuals and others are groups of people)
asking for over $13,000, which is an over 50% drop from our previous
years; thanks largely to the five additonal Demand Liberation regional action conferences which will be held all over the country.

People often ask us how do we determine who gets travel grants and who
doesn’t. The truth is, we really, really don’t have a set formula -
each application is reviewed and considered in relation to all the
other applications and our budget. We have a general set of guidelines:

• Why do they want to attend Liberation Now! ?
  As much as we love the goodie bags
  ourselves, if someone tells us that they want to attend LibNow just
  because of the goodie bag, it really won’t fly too well with us.
  We pay special attention to what they say – we’re absolute suckers for
  peeps who tell us all about how they have such a great group going, but
  they are about to graduate, so they are bringing new activists from
  their school to fire them up, and also for those who tell us that they
  just went vegan and want to learn more and want to get more active for
  the animals.

• Is it a good deal?

  If both applications are asking
  for $200 – but one benefits only one student and the other benefits
  four, we generally would opt for the application for four (see the next
  guideline). We have an application this year from four Maryland
  students who found a super rad buy-one-get-one-free deal on Orbitz,
  by all means, we just had to approve that one. We can’t pass up a good
  deal. (And surely they didn’t tell us that all they wanted are the
  goodie bags! )

• Will it help diversify the conference and/or the animal rights movement?
  

The Student Animal Rights Alliance’s mission is to build a strong & diverse
youth movement for animals. We’re one of the few animal rights
organizations working to build diversity in the animal rights movement
and probably the only one with a stated mission to do so (gosh, we hope
we’re wrong on this – there has got to be others!).



We offer registration fee waivers and keep our registration fees cheap
(just $10 at early registration; covering the whole three day
conference, organize free & low-cost lodging, and provide free
tasty vegan meals at the conference) all in the efforts to make sure
everyone of all economic backgrounds who wants to learn more about how
they can do more for the animals will not be turned away just because
of money.



The travel grants program *really* help us greatly in our diversity efforts.



We look at the registration data to help us determine our diversity
needs – for example, last year we worked to make sure we can get groups
of students from West Virginia and South Carolina to attend the DC
conference since there weren’t that many other folks from those states.



And of course, surely, we also work to build racial diversity in
addition to economic and geographic diversity. We’re quite proud
actually of organizing the most diverse national animal rights event
each year since we were founded in 2001. 

Well, that’s basically how we make our decisions just in case you were wondering.

Oh, and in the midst of all the craziness here with organizing the Liberation Now! and Demand Liberation conferences,
this brought a huge smile to our faces. The folks at Animal Protection
Institute sent us a couple of $25 Travel Coupon Certificates for travel
grant applicants. That’s so sweet!

Oh, and if you want to know how you can help us with the conferences -
whether it be making a donation to help or simply helping us spread the
word – every little bit REALLY counts, please check out the “Help Us” page on the LibNow site.

And please don’t forget about the Demand Liberation regional
action conferences. Check out the “Help Us” pages for each of the
cities when you get to the site, simply pick the city and click on
“Help Us.”

Thanks!

Oh, and we almost forgot. We really, really, really have to thank all of our conference sponsors,
individual donors, foundations, and speakers for their support of our
work to build a strong & diverse youth movement for animals and
belief in youth. Without their support, there’s really no way we can
put on Liberation Now! and Demand Liberation year after year and keep the registration fees cheap and offer travel grants. Thanks folks!

Ok, as if meeting hundreds of other young animal activists and dozens of fabulous speakers isn’t enough.

One of the most exciting things about the Liberation Now! conference is the absolutely *amazing* goodie bag that the conference attendees get. (Ok, for some – like for those of us in the SARA office, it’s actually THE most exciting thing! )

Stuff from many more companies are arriving this and the next coming weeks. We’re so excited!

Oh, yeah, the only way you’d get a LibNow Goodie Bag is if you show up at the conference or win the SARA E-News contest. So register for the conference now or try your luck!

(Actually, the less people who show up at LibNow, the more extra goodies the SARA staff and LibNow speakers will have. So actually, please don’t come. )

Here’s a list of the super-duper cool companies (and COK and PETA!) who are giving us stuff. More to come!

*Bodhi Bar *Bumble Bar *Chreese *Clif Bars *Compassion Over Killing *Dr. Bronner’s *Edward and Sons *Grainaissance *Kiss My Face *Merry Hempsters *Mia Rose *PETA *Primal Spirit Foods *Recycline *Seventh Generation *Stonewall’s Jerky *Stretch Island *Sun Dog *Sunflour Baking Company *Tofurky *Tofutti *Urban Decay *Wildwood

To find out more about LibNow and how you can register, visit:
http://www.LiberationNow.com

WOW! This story is sooooo cool. Kudos to the folks at Indiana University for taking a stand!

http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=25120

Vegans unhappy with Collins food
Many say quality has decreased after chef’s departure

By Lindsay Lyon

Published Friday, October 1, 2004

After a long day of classes, junior Scott Ferguson and sophomore Jacob Mazer are hungry. At 5:15 p.m. the two friends, both vegans, scan the dinner menu posted on the wall at the entrance of Collins’ Edmundson Dining Hall and turn up their noses.

“We’ve been thrown to the wolves,” Ferguson jokes.

The two opt for wraps in the deli line, like they now do most nights, instead of eating a hot meal in the traditional buffet line.

For years, students like Ferguson have chosen to live in Collins Living Learning Center because they know it caters to vegetarians and vegans. This is especially important to vegans who maintain a strict diet of no animal products or by-products. That means no meat, dairy or eggs.

“I’m vegan for animal rights purposes,” Ferguson said. “I heard about Collins before I came to IU. I was vegan and was told this was the place to come.”

This year, things have changed.

Jim Beeson, longtime vegan chef and manager of dining services at Collins, resigned in the spring, taking with him all his recipes and leaving many students unhappy.

The new manager, Cheryl Gucinski, has been faced with many complaints. On Wednesday evening, nearly 40 residents gathered in the Edmundson Former Lounge to voice their concerns to Gucinski and other members of the dining hall staff. Also present were Resident Halls Association President John Palmer and Pat Connor, the executive director of Residential Programs and Services.

“My biggest problem is the lack of vegan food,” said freshman Luke Shumard, a Collins resident. “Everyday it’s not a problem, but on Sundays, soup is usually the main entrée and that’s about it.”

Among the other complaints were the lack of a hot breakfast, the loss of cereal dispensers and waffle machines, the mislabeling of vegan items, the absence of vegan deserts and the planning of meals in general. Many vegans were also concerned about the lack of protein in their diet because tofu is rarely offered.

“I like to have good combinations of food when I eat,” freshman Elizabeth McConville said. “Sometimes when you eat, everything on your plate is the same color, and that’s just wrong.”

Not much has changed this year, Gucinski said. All the forecasting for meals is based on last year’s records.

“We pretty well have gone with the same menu,” Gucinski said. “We’ve added a few homemade cream soups, but basically that’s the only thing we’ve changed. I do know when we prepare strictly vegan items, very few are taken.”

As for the waffle iron, Gucinski said it was removed because it had not been properly maintained. When it was used, she said, it wasn’t kept under a sneeze guard, which presents the danger of cross-contamination.

“It was left filthy over the summer,” Gucinski said. “The grease and gunk had caked and baked all summer, so it was discontinued.”

Gucinski is not new to the job. She started working for RPS in 1985 and has worked as either manager or assistant manager of the McNutt, Gresham, Willkie, Forest, Eigenmann and Read dining halls. She said there are always problems in new situations but that this is the first time she has ever been attacked before even knowing there was a problem. Usually students bring her their complaints through Community Council, she said.

Residents have organized a food committee that will meet once every two weeks to discuss new issues and consult with Gucinsky, who said what she needs is new ideas and that she welcomes recipes, especially for vegan items. Gucinsky is also given a budget by RPS and must stay within that budget.

Sophomore Yasmina Bersbach, Collins resident and former Edmundson employee, said that more than just food has changed. Bersbach worked for Beeson last year and said that for Beeson, his job was his life. At 7 p.m. each night, she recalled Beeson would sing the “Last Call,” usually a song he made up to let students know the dining hall would be closing in 15 minutes.

“To Jim, it was personal. He made an effort to get to know students, and he was a part of Collins,” Berbasch said. “I feel like Cheryl’s detached and just here to do her job.”

With time, Gucinsky said, these issues will be worked out. She noted that the menus were just changed to be more vegan friendly. She also plans to hire more staff.

“Obviously I want to make the business grow, and I want students to be happy,” Gucinski said. “My role is to provide quality food, service and a good atmosphere. Collins is a wonderful community. There are very few buildings on campus where people sit and have dinner together.”

– Contact staff writer Lindsay Lyon

Hey! This is our first blog and first blog entry, so bear with us (or is that bare with us?) as we work to figure it all out. Please don’t hesitate to leave us suggestions and comments on what we can do to improve our blog! Thanks!

For our first entry, we decided to show ya some of pics from our last 3 years – we recently celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a few dozen friends, supporters, and colleagues here in our new office in Chelsea. It was so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow – Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Isn’t this pic cute? It’s PETA founder and prez Ingrid Newkirk with a group of students from PA (Penn State, we think). Ingrid will be speaking at the upcoming Liberation Now! conference in Berkeley again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow – Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Check out how the pic captured the “Help End Their Misery…One Bite At A Time” just as it was playing on the TV. We think that’s really cool. (yeah, we’re dorks.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow – Feb 2004: Berkeley, CA : It’s always so hard to get “crowd pics” to show the hundreds of peeps at LibNow, this is not too bad, dontcha think? Oh, and the speaker is Steven Wise, past prez of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and author of Rattling the Cage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation – Feb 2004: New York City : It was Valentine’s Day and we were out in force after the NYC Demand Liberation regional action conference to urge Kentucky Fried Cruelty to have a heart and stop torturing chickens. THOUSANDS of New Yorkers were educated about KFC’s extreme cruelty and tons of them gave us thumbs-up and honked in support!!! Oh, and we ran out of all of the thousands of literature we brought with us!

We’ll be doing Demand Liberation: Regional Student Animal Rights Action Conferences in five cities all over the country – in Austin, TX, Boston, MA, Gainesville, FL, Minneapolis, MN, and Philadelphia, PA. Check out http://www.DemandLiberation.com – hope to see ya there!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation – Feb 2004: New York City : Another pic from inside the NYC conference. Oooh, she’s wearing that “Please Don’t Eat Me…” shirt from Urban Outfitters!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation – Feb 2004: Chicago : On the way to protest KFC after the Chicago conference. Look at all the pretty faces!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation – Feb 2004: Chicago : KFC Tortures Chickens!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : All smiles and thumbs-up! Apparently we did a great job organizing the conference! :: Pats ourselves on our backs ::

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Showing off all the vegan goodies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow  - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : GourmetCruelty.com’s Sarahjane Blum talks about her undercover investigation and rescue of ducks exploited by the hideously cruel foie gras industry after the premiere of their documentary, Delicacy of Despair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation - Mar 2004: Berkeley : Chillin’, chattin’, and hangin’ at the regional conference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation - Mar 2004: Berkeley : Oooh, look at how everyone’s paying attention!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation – Mar 2004: Berkeley : KFC demo at the regional conference. Isn’t that chicken costume cool?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demand Liberation - Mar 2004: Berkeley : Yay!!! Look how she’s putting her media training skills she learned at the conference to good use by talking to a reporter from a local radio station!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow- Feb 2003: Berkeley : Nah, that’s not a church sermon! It’s the Working with the Media workshop with Lawrence Carter-Long and Lydia Nichols from In Defense of Animals!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Signing up to take action at the Farm Sanctuary table!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Hundreds of activists line around the Neiman Marcus at the LibNow rally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Neiman Marcus? Neiman Carcass!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LibNow - Nov 2004: Washington, DC : Danielle Konya from www.VeganTreats.com sent us dozens of yummy vegan cakes. They were SO GOOD! We all gained a few pounds after the conference.

Leave us feedback! Thanks for reading!