Students interpret fur industry

By Matt Lindner
Assistant Campus Editor

The graphic contents of a display case across from Fowler Hall in Stewart Center are causing more than a few heads to turn and stare.

Inside the case is a fur coat dripping fake blood onto a white piece of paper. Encompassing the coat is a white sheet that is spattered with fake blood with a poster to the left of the coat that says, "Here's the rest of your fur coat." Also included in the poster is a picture of a skinned animal carcass to show what an animal looks like after its fur has been removed.

Students in Defense of Animals is putting on the display for the second consecutive year. Kara Beaver, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts and a member of Students in Defense of Animals, said the group's goal is to inform.

"We are doing it so people can see what they are supporting when they buy fur and fur-trim coats which are popular right now," Beaver said. "Really, the display is nothing in comparison to the torture that those animals face to become a fur coat."

Students who have seen the display don't agree with the way it is presented because the actual fact sheet is eclipsed by the large, graphic display inside the case. Jill Puzey, a freshman in the School of Management, said the display was overdone.

"The poster is too graphic, and there's probably a better way for them to get their point across," Puzey said.

Camilo Zapata, a graduate student, said the display probably would not achieve its desired affect with the way it is presented.

"The idea of the display is good, but the way that they express it isn't," Zapata said. "They're trying to avoid something that is violent by using violence to display their message."

Justin Marquis, a junior in the School of Liberal Arts, said the display didn't change his views about fur.

"Things like this don't affect my opinion because they are sensationalistic," Marquis said.

When informed of students' opinions, Beaver said the group had only presented the facts.

"I don't see the display cases as being an over-dramatization because the picture in the display case shows an actual animal after it has been skinned," Beaver said. "It's a horrible thing to look at but it should make people think twice before they go out and buy a fur coat."

Beaver also said the presentation might help to change the views of some.

"I think that anyone would be turned off to any industry that tortures animals for something as frivolous as vanity because that's all the fur industry is," Beaver said.

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Campus editor: Kelsey VanArsdall

Assistant Campus editors: Rachael Conley, Matt Lindner

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