First in the Nation: 100+ Wesleyan Students, Faculty, and Alumni Call for a Memorial Plaque
At Wesleyan University, a coalition of more than 100 students, faculty, and alumni are coming together to call on the school to build a more compassionate campus—by standing in solidarity with all animals. The coalition is calling on the school to install a PETA-supported “Wesleyan Animal Recognition Memorial”—a plaque outside the dining hall that would commemorate the millions of chickens, cows, fish, pigs, and others who have been killed and served there as food.
Why This Plaque Matters
Universities are meant to be spaces where bold ideas take root and where empathy can flourish. The first-of-its-kind Wesleyan Animal Recognition Memorial would serve as a powerful symbol—one that would invite the campus community to pause, reflect, and recognize that every meal represents a choice between perpetuating suffering or promoting compassion.
As the proposed plaque emphasizes, other animals feel love, joy, pain, and fear, just as humans do. When given the chance, cows develop lifelong friendships, and mother hens teach calls to their chicks before they’ve even hatched. Pigs are curious, social, and love to cuddle. Some species of fish “sing” to each other to communicate.
Yet, these animals suffer tremendously in the meat, egg, dairy, and other industries. They spend much of their lives on farms, which deny them the opportunity to bask in the sun, roam in the grass, or even breathe fresh air. These industries exploit them like they’re commodities—milk- or egg-producing machines, or pieces of flesh.
PETA points out that the university’s dining hall can easily eliminate cruelty to animals from its menu, as it has already acknowledged the student body’s vegan food requests by offering a plethora of plant-powered options.
Support For the Plaque Gains Momentum
After more than a year of collaboration between PETA and members of the Wesleyan University community, enthusiasm for the proposed Wesleyan Animal Recognition Memorial continues to build.
In a letter to University President Michael Roth, Wesleyan alum and PETA Manager Jakob Shaw emphasized the urgency behind the effort, saying: “Wesleyan teaches students the critical importance of open dialogue and asks them to examine all forms of oppression. Yet in the dining hall, it’s all too easy to ignore the inarguable suffering of the cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals who are confined on industrial factory farms, abused, exploited, and killed before they end up on our plates.”
That message is resonating. At a PETA tabling event at the school, students gathered around a mockup of the proposed plaque—featuring the question, “How Will History Judge Our Treatment of Our Fellow Animals?”—and were eager to sign a petition in support of the memorial plaque. More than 100 students, faculty, and alumni have now signed their names in support. Coverage in the student-led paper show that just the concept of the plaque has already launched thought-provoking discussions for Wesleyans’ student body.
The benefits of the plaque are backed by research, too: a March 2026 study found that simple empathy-oriented prompts—like placing images of living animals next to meat-based dishes—can boost meat-free meal choices by 22 percent.
Making an Impact
Across the country, colleges and universities have begun installing statues, sculptures, and plaques that acknowledge past injustices. These symbols serve as reminders of how institutions can confront their histories and commit to doing better. The coalition of students, faculty, and alumni supporting the Wesleyan Animal Recognition Memorial is calling on the university not to wait until animal agriculture is a horrific memory and to take action now. The memorial will not only start a conversation about the value of animals, human health, and the environment, but will also influence other schools to do the same. It’s an opportunity to inspire students everywhere to choose the kind option—the vegan option—by leaving animals off their plates.
You Can Work Toward Animal Liberation Every Day
Going vegan gives each of us immediate, personal power to create change—no approval, permission, or policy needed.
At a time when students everywhere are working for justice in all its forms, being vegan connects the dots between empathy for animals, respect for the planet, and a commitment to creating a better world for us all. Everyone can make a difference.
If you’ve already made the compassionate switch, help someone else do it by ordering them PETA’s free vegan starter kit.
