Stirling Uni vegan campaigners face backlash and abuse
Students have experienced threatening behaviour, including a letter pinned to their front door.
Vegan students from Stirling who successfully campaigned for their union to transition to 100% plant-based catering have reported threatening and abusive behaviour towards them.
The University of Stirling’s student union has committed to becoming 50% vegan next year, and fully vegan by 2025, following a motion that was passed last month by the campaign group Plant-based Universities.
The students involved in the drive have stated they are willing to meet and talk with anyone who has felt strongly enough to direct personal attacks towards them.
One campaigner, Imogen Robertson, 21, even received a note pinned to her front door, something which she described as “scary.”
She said: “I don’t think it’s appropriate to go to someone’s flat and try and engage in debate, that’s a no-no, it’s incredibly inappropriate. The best way to engage in debate is by doing it in university.”
The note said: “Dear vegans, please stop forcing veganism on the uni.
“I don’t force eating a £30 McDonald’s order of big tastys and wrap of the day on you.
“I assume you also wouldn’t appreciate if I made you eat an all-meat diet so don’t force a zero-meat diet on us.
“If you feel the need to respond and share concerns reply below and pin to your door. Thanks, Stirling.”
"Not appropriate" - Imogen
Of the claim in the note that vegans are forcing veganism on others, Imogen said: “It would be like me claiming that I’m being forced to eat McDonalds because there’s a McDonald right next to my flat, and it would be the same as me saying I’m being forced to eat animal products because the rest of the outlets on campus are not vegan.”
The vote at the University of Stirling was passed by a 55.4% majority, although only roughly 100 of the 17,000 students attended.
This equates to less than 1% of the university having a say in the outcome of the campaign.
Imogen said: “This turnout for student’s union meetings is not unusual at all, the turnout while low, in fact was higher than the turnout of some meetings that have happened fairly recently in the union.
“Students not engaging with student politics is a problem, but it’s not our problem.”
She added: “Everyone has the right to make their voices heard at these meetings, we certainly weren’t going to wait around until student engagement with politics was fixed – it’s up to students themselves to turn up to these meetings.”
2025 deadline to go meat-free
Despite the union going fully vegan, there are still nine other food vendors on the campus that will sell meat and dairy products.
Imogen said: There will always be outlets and shops on campus that sell animal products, for the time being anyway.
“On that basis I don’t sympathise {with critics}, I think it’s reactionary, illogical and intellectually dishonest.”