Students wear cow costume, offend vegans
October 26, 2017
On Thursday, Oct. 26, two University students became the targets of vicious social media attacks initiated by a number of vegan individuals on campus after they jointly dressed as a cow for Halloween. Facebook posts laced with epithets like “ignorant” and “intolerant” and tweets popularizing the movement #IStandWithVegans have overwhelmed the internet in response to their dubious choice of costume.
Archie Vedder ’20, the student who donned the head and torso of the cow, made the controversial decision to upload a picture of himself and his friend in the costume on Oct. 26 at 12:47 a.m. Donna McDonnell ’21 was the first vegan to see the Instagram post, comment the middle finger emoji, and then report it online.
“It’s just so insensitive. Do they not think we picture hamburgers every time we try to stomach tofu for dinner? Or whole milk every time we pour hemp milk into our cereal bowls?” McDonnell questioned.
“It’s like posting a picture of the cutest baby in the world without first considering the feelings of their infertile female followers,” she added.
Vedder has since penned apologies on his Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages. According to his followers, each posted apology is accompanied by a picture of Vedder donning a t-shirt that reads “I’M A FREAK FOR VEGANISM” and sorrowfully gazing at the mountains overlooking the Malesardi Quadrangle.
The student who wore the rear end of the cow has not yet been identified. McDonnell has assembled an investigative committee to determine the second offender.
“We will not rest until the student at fault is apprehended,” McDonnell said. “In fact, we’ve transferred most of our efforts from discussing why the costume was so offensive to finding someone to blame for it.”
When asked whether or not vegan students have begun to engage in a face-to-face dialogue with Vedder to address the contentious issue, a confused expression swept across McDonnell’s face.
“I admonished Vedder in my most recent Facebook post, and it got 211 likes and 6 shares. What’s the point of talking to him in person?” McDonnell said.
