Pitzer College Makes History With Nation’s First Campus Memorial to Animals Killed for Food 

For Immediate Release:
September 2, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Pitzer College made history this week by unveiling the nation’s first college-campus memorial honoring animals killed for food, getting a 50-to-100-year jump on the usual lag time for institutions acknowledging unjust practices. Claremont Mayor Jennifer Stark joined Pitzer students, faculty, alumni, and PETA representatives for the unveiling of the Pitzer Animal Recognition Memorial installation at McConnell Dining Hall, honoring the cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals who have been killed and served for food on campus. Attendees heard moving speeches in praise of the memorial plaque’s place in history from Pitzer alumna and PETA staff member Ella Rosenblatt and Mayor Jennifer Stark and enjoyed vegan chicken tenders in a demonstration of how easy it is to choose nonviolent foods. Photos and video of the ceremony are available here.

“Every student who walks into this dining hall will be reminded that each animal killed for a fleeting taste was once a living, feeling individual who valued their life and didn’t want to die,” says Pitzer alumna and PETA staff member Ella Rosenblatt, who led the coalition calling for the memorial. “This unique memorial will encourage students to consider who is on their plate each time they sit down to eat.”

Funded by PETA, the memorial was proposed by a coalition of Pitzer students, alumni, and faculty members. Angela Davis, a longtime vegan and renowned civil rights activist, author, and educator, has long encouraged people to stand against all forms of oppression and spoke in support of the memorial during her Pitzer College commencement address earlier this year.

“Future generations will look back in horror and wonder how so many humans could support the violent slaughter of billions of thinking, feeling animals each year,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “With this memorial, Pitzer College is helping build a more just and peaceful world for all living beings, and PETA urges every school to follow its compassionate lead.”

Cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals feel love, joy, pain, and fear, just as humans do—yet in the meat, egg, and dairy industries, they are raised in filthy, crowded conditions and are violently killed. Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their food-related carbon footprint, and slashes their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone thinking of making the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.