‘Turn the Tide’: University of Alabama Students, Alums Petition to Erect Memorial for Animals Killed for Dining Hall Meals 

For Immediate Release:
November 10, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Could the University of Alabama become the first university in the South to recognize and honor animals killed for food served on campus? As calls for Animal Recognition Memorials spread to college campuses across the country, a group of Alabama students and alumni, working with PETA, sent a letter today to university President Peter J. Mohler requesting a plaque outside the “Fresh” dining hall. The memorial would invite everyone on campus to consider the lives of the pigs, chickens, cows, and other species who are often only seen on a plate, overlooked and dismissed, and to recognize the impact that our daily meal choices have on them.

The request follows California’s Pitzer College’s recent historic installation of the nation’s first such memorial, with help from PETA, as well as Emmy-award-winning actor and PETA Honorary Director James Cromwell’s call for his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, to follow suit. Now, the Alabama coalition hopes the Crimson Tide will “roll on to victory” by following Pitzer’s lead and becoming the first university in the South to establish a similar memorial.

“Growing up, many of us learn the Golden Rule: treat others as we would want to be treated. I became vegan when I asked myself why we don’t apply this concept to other animals,” says Zao Nelems, a University of Alabama student who is excited to get the plaque installed on campus. “It’s easy to become numb to the suffering of the billions of animals who are slaughtered each year for food, but the truth is that each one was a conscious individual who didn’t view their life as a statistic and wanted to live. I hope others will genuinely consider joining this fight against violence today by going vegan.”

“Universities ask students to confront uncomfortable truths, and this memorial would recognize that every meal containing meat represents an animal who felt pain and fear and valued their life,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is calling on the University of Alabama to help turn the tide for animals by installing this plaque and encouraging everyone to recognize that animals are someone, not something, and go vegan.”

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”—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.

The students’ and alums’ letter to Mohler follows.

November 10, 2026

Dr. Peter J. Mohler

President

University of Alabama

Dear President Mohler:

I hope this semester is going well. We, the undersigned students and alumni, are writing to respectfully request the installation of a memorial plaque outside of Fresh. You may have heard that in September, Pitzer College made history by becoming the first college in the country to install an “animal recognition memorial plaque” outside of the school’s dining hall. The memorial plaque – endorsed by Angela Davis – invites the community to acknowledge and consider the millions of pigs, chickens, cows, and other animals who were killed so that their bodies could be served on campus. We would be proud to see our university join Pitzer while becoming the first in the South to establish such a memorial. After all, the Crimson Tide knows a thing or two about being in the lead, and we hope Alabama will once again roll on to victory by setting an example for universities across the country.

As fellow living beings who feel fear, pain, and stress, and who value their lives just as we value our own, animals deserve our empathy and consideration. Yet, it is all too easy to ignore the suffering of the cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals who are confined and abused on industrial factory farms, and then violently killed, before they end up on our plates. The plaque (a rendering of which is included below) is an invitation for everyone to consider the experiences of these animals – who are just like us in all the ways that matter – and a reminder that every meal offers us an opportunity to make kinder choices.

As students, we believe a university should be a place where we are encouraged not only to learn, but also to question unjust practices that we can no longer, in good conscience, turn away from. Killing our fellow animals for food is one of those practices. The animals honored in this memorial are largely invisible in our everyday lives, even though decisions affecting them are made each day in our dining halls. A simple acknowledgment of their lives would create an opportunity for thoughtful reflection and conversation.

The memorial is also deeply aligned with the University’s own commitments to ethical leadership and impactful public outreach. By creating space for this conversation and recognizing these animals, the University would show that these are not just abstract ideals, but consequential principles that guide the real-world decisions we make each day.

Thank you for your consideration. We hope Alabama will help turn the tide for animals.

Roll Tide,

Sydney Cartwright, ‘28

Taylor Murray, ‘18

Joel Nelems, ‘28

Zao Nelems, ‘28

Tim Polkovnichenko, ‘28

Mason Serna, ‘21

William Wolf, ‘21