From the Weekly WARN Fact to Joel Bartlett’s Wespeak campaign, the Wesleyan Animal Rights Network has used rabble-rousing tactics and invited confrontation ever since anyone in the student body has been at Wesleyan. Most students are turned off by the graphic images. Instead of considering the changes they could make in their lifestyles, they shy away from the confrontational measures.

  The members of WARN are admirable in their persistence and belief that they can change the world one person at a time. However, their negative information blitzkrieg has usually done more harm than good by alienating students with its intensity. So it is with pleasant surprise that we commend them for the novel approach they took on Wednesday in their crusade against the exploitation of animals by humans.

  The costumes were a good way to draw attention without the usual accusatory statements. It seems that WARN finally realized they can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. We here at the Argus heartily approve of furthering causes – one of Wesleyan’s distinguishing characteristics is its penchant for activism - but only in constructive and positive manners. Marching in the streets or writing about how the noble chicken is scalded to death may raise a few eyebrows, but to really make an impact on people you must inform them in such a way that they decide they care about the issue. Presenting issues in a creative manner is a great way of fueling support. While extreme tactics are sometimes necessary when fighting the Man, Wesleyan’s knee-jerk liberalism often jumps the gun and fails to use discretion in how the Man should be fought.

  In short, though shocking students may be fun, it gets little done. We would all do well to take a page from WARN’s newest chapter and try the soft sell on for size.

editorial cartoon
by George Obulutsa '03