Say Hello To Anna! May 21, 2009

I was pretty excited when Anna, a Pleasant Valley High School student, sent us a link to her school newspaper article about a PETA demonstration against the use of animals for their skins.

She did a great job of getting quotes and conveying the message that animals should not be fashion victims.

Here is a quick interview I did with Anna so you can get to know her a bit better ...

How has the response been to your article?
For the most part it has been positive. Our Entertainment Editor is vegetarian so I have had support from her and other friends that are vegetarian. Some of the people that I know think that the PETA campaign against the use of animal fur in the fashion industry is pointless because of the few amount of people who wear fur. But for the most part people think that it's an interesting campaign that PETA has for advocating against the fur industry and found the article insightful.

Why are you interested in animal rights issues?
Before I began research for my article on PETA, I was indifferent about the subject of animal rights. I was never aware of the horrible treatment that still occurred in today's advanced societies. After I wrote my article I realized that there is still a large amount of work people must do, and I feel that we must begin focusing part of our attention on the silent victims that are the animals.

What's your favorite way to educate people about this topic?
I educate people about animal abuse in the fashion industry and the abuses in general by not laughing at their stupid jokes about PETA and the people who advocate against animal abuse. Instead I let them know that there is still a problem. I enjoyed researching my article so whenever I can I throw a fact or statistic about animal abuse there way to let them know it's not a small issue they are usually shocked to learn that something new about the topic.

How did you hear about peta2?
When I was a freshman my first locker had a peta2 sticker stuck on it that read, "I am not a nugget." I didn't think too much about peta2 until this year when I went to the protest against furs and skins and the fashion campaigner, Jena Hunt, suggested I visit the website to learn more about PETA and how high schoolers can become active.

Any advice for other students who want to write about animal rights for their school newspaper?
I would suggest that they attend a protest rally that focuses on what they want to write their article about. When I attended the protest everyone was so nice and welcoming. I didn't know a lot about the animal abuse in the fashion industry until I met the protesters and it truly inspired me to write my article. They were so willing to share with me their experiences and their knowledge about the subject. Also supporting an article with statistics and facts about the topic you write about always makes an article stronger and it makes the reader more aware of the problem.

Thanks again, Anna! If you're looking to write a story about animal rights or otherwise get active for animals, check out the Street Team today!

-Pulin

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Lose the Burger, Save a Life November 11, 2008

Rhea, a high school student in Colorado, sent us a link to something she wrote for her school newspaper earlier in the year.

In a piece called "Lose the Burger, Save a Life," Rhea talks all about how not eating animals, "promotes peace, is good for our bodies, is beneficial to the environment, and the foremost reason to become a vegetarian is the moral obligation to ourselves and every other species." Check out the full article.

You can read all about the benefits in lots of detail at GoVeg.com, and if you're interested specifically in the environmental angle, make sure you take a look at our Meat's Not Green campaign.

I really like how Rhea says, "we will be the perpetrators of violence on a daily basis if people continue to live their lives blindly and carelessly by not changing their diet." It's very direct, and I think people appreciate that honesty, honestly.

Elizabeth and I are going to St. Louis this week to talk to students at the Journalism Education Association / National Scholastic Press Association high school journalism conference. We love seeing talented writers use their skills to not only speak out against cruelty, but discuss the humane options for living cruelty-free. Hopefully we'll see some of you there! We can talk about story ideas, do interviews, get you some stickers and info, and just hang out!

If you have any articles you've written about animal rights, please make sure to send them our way! And congrats again to Rhea for a great piece of writing.

Thanks!
-Pulin

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