Dining hall food

In response to your article “Dining halls try to balance favorite, healthy food” (1/14/08), it was encouraging to see that campus dining is keeping up with the progression of student demands for healthier, more humane cuisine. As the article mentions, the University has made recent additions to ensure that there are vegetarian and vegan options available at every meal to accommodate residents seeking out these dishes, which is an ever-growing portion of the student population. In fact, a recent study by Aramark, a leading food service provider, concluded that nearly a quarter of college students are looking for vegan options when they sit down to eat, for reasons ranging from their own health to environmental concerns, and of course to oppose cruelty to animals. Students are horrified when they discover the inherent violence involved in raising and killing animals for food. Chickens, for example, often have their beaks sliced off with hot blades, while cows and pigs are skinned and dismembered — many while still fully conscious. When people find out about this cruelty, they understand that if these abuses were inflicted upon cats or dogs, it would result in felony cruelty to animal charges. Thankfully, with these delicious and humane new dishes being offered at N.C. State, it’s now easier than ever not to support companies that systematically abuse animals, by choosing one of the many vegetarian and vegan dishes available. For more information, visit peta2.com to request a free vegetarian starter kit, as well as stickers and a DVD. Ryan HulingCollege Campaign Coordinator, peta2.com

MyPack Portal Problems

This is aimed at the University. Everyone’s complaining about MyPack problems with registration, but don’t think that the problems with the site are limited to just that. Under the new system, the only way that I can get a letter that states that I am a student here so that I am eligible to get insurance coverage through my mother’s work is by going onto MyPack and clicking a little link marked “Request Enrollment Verification.” That part of the site hasn’t worked since MyPack went up. No matter what computer or what time of day I try it, it just doesn’t work. I have sent numerous e-mails to the University, but I guess they got lost in the mass jumble of other letters saying that the site was down. Don’t think that this is just a problem with registration, so you don’t have to fix the site until the end of the semester. Fix it now.

Agnes DavisJunior, Psychology