One of Mercer University’s newest approved organizations is the Mercer Vegan Club. Students Chelsea Mackay and Nishi Patel are the co-presidents and founders of the club, and they both lead a vegan lifestyle.
“You try to eliminate causing harm to animals as much as practical and possible,” Mackay said. “You eliminate animal products to a reasonable extent.”
Patel said it’s not just about food, but also items like wool clothes or makeup that’s tested on animals.
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She and Mackay said they wanted to create the club to hold outreach events to educate Mercer’s students about the environmental, ethical and health benefits of going vegan. They want to get in touch with other vegans on campus and share tips, recipes and hacks for on-campus dining.
“It’s open to everyone,” Patel said. “We want people who are vegan, people who aren’t vegan. We just want people to come if they find it interesting.”
Patel said the club is still getting off the ground, but that they’ve already seen a lot of other students express interest.
“It’s even better if people who have never heard of it before come out,” Mackay said. “That way we can educate them on it.”
Mercer Vegan Club’s first meeting will be on Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in Knight Hall, room 304.
“I hope that it can grow and that we can actually see people getting interested in it,” Mackay said.
You can connect with the organization on their Facebook group, called Mercer Vegan Club.
New campus organization aims to create vegan community
Chelsea Mackay and Nishi Patel are members of the vegan club.
