Due to exceeding costs of tofu and an administrative move toward low-carb diets, The First Harvest Vegan Café, located on the third floor of the campus center, will close down next month. In its place, a new restaurant WESteak will offer a variety of animal flesh and animal byproducts, with each menu item containing few to no carbohydrates.
“We were getting a lot of pull from the trustee board to move away from expensive soy, tempeh, and seitan products,” President Bennet said of the decision. “And it seems everyone these days is avoiding carbs like the plague anyway, so we figured WESteak is the best possible alternative—less expensive while still offering the latest diet craze.”
Along with the arrival of WESteak, however, comes angry students who relied on the Café to meet their vegetarian and/or vegan needs. In addition to patrons, four Wesleyan students who worked serving at the Vegan Cafe have quit since the announcement of the new steakhouse.
“Even if I don’t have to actually eat the meat, I still refuse to partake in the cooking and serving of animal products,” said vegan student and ex-café worker Jenny Jones ’07. “And I am not alone. We are in the midst of planning an ‘animal peace rally’ for the opening day of WESteak.”
According to Jones, the rally is to take place on the steps of Olin library, and will be attended by various cage-free farm animals from surrounding organic farms to “mourn the death of loved ones.” The rally line-up will also include several moving performances by WESPeace, EON, and The Management.
“We understand this decision is not making everybody happy,” Bennet said. “But after thinking long and hard, we decided that Wesleyan Vegans are expendable.”
In the midst of protest and fury, some students show support for the coming WESteak.
“I transferred from Omaha State and the one thing I was missing were some good cuts of steak,” said Phil Donahue ’05, founder of new campus group “Meat-Lovers for WESteak.” He added, “I also like eggs, milk, butter, cheese, and honey. I sometimes wonder if Vegans really know what they’re missing.”
In addition to the support from meat lovers, Bennet emphasized the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle.
“Midge and I were thrilled when we each lost ten pounds on the Atkins diet. We hope that kind of happiness can be spread to the rest of campus.”
In addition to the Campus Center dining changes, WEShop will also be moving away from soy products, replacing ‘Tofutti Cuties’ with regular ice cream sandwiches and eliminating Tofurky Jerky altogether from the Aramark order list.
“I’m worried that I’ll have nothing to eat,” Jones said. “Right now, I’m stuck with those weird cranberry vegan cookies from Mocon and the Vegout meals at Earth House. Let’s hope I don’t starve.”
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