New marine animal RSO to bring animal rights to campus conversation
There’s a new Registered Student Organization on Central Michigan University’s campus, and it has one goal in mind: To educate the student population about animal rights and habitats.
“Collegiate Advocates for the Rights of Marine Animals is deeply committed to the conservation of all marine animals and their habitat,” reads the group’s mission statement. “CARMA is dedicated to securing permanent, strong protection for marine animals, great or small, in order to set an effective example for future generations.”
Travis White, a CMU junior, founded the RSO because of his love of marine animals. He was also partially motivated by the documentary “Blackfish” and its ability to bring awareness of marine animal rights to the public.
“We’re still in the very early stages of the group, but we know it very much is going to be member driven,” he said. “We advocate for anything that lives underwater, and plan to address issues ranging from ending whale hunting in the Arctic to keeping orcas out of SeaWorld and ending dolphin hunting. We believe that marine life deserves to be free and not locked up for our entertainment.”
White said the group will also work with preservation, and keeping the ocean, one of our largest natural resources, clean.
Senior Rachel Ochylski, vice president of CARMA, said CMU students have expressed a strong interest in being a part of the group.
“We had a huge turnout at MAINstage, which was expected but still surprising to see,” Ochylski said.
Over the course of the year, the group hopes to host a number of events including a screening of the documentary “Blackfish” and a community clean-up project called “Pick up the Chip.” This event will allow RSO members and those in the community to work together on cleaning up littered areas of the Chippewa River.
“We plan to emphasize nature conservation and educational outreach,” White said. “We’ve also talked about doing petition signings. It’s very important to show that there is a large number of people backing a certain cause.”
White and Ochylski both emphasized that they want the group’s ideas to be member driven, and they hope future members will be vocal about events they wish to see take place.
“We definitely want our members to contribute and help us think of events,” Ochylski said.
Senior Maghan O’Neil said she feels the RSO has the potential to do a lot of good on campus.
“I’m a biology major, so, yes, I would be interested in this RSO,” she said. “We’re close to the Great Lakes, so it might bring awareness to issues surrounding them.”
Students interested in joining CARMA should email White at white3tm@cmich.edu or visit the group’s Facebook page.
CARMA will be holding its first meeting of the year on Sept. 11 from 8 to 9 p.m. in Brooks 203. Their Facebook is Collegiate Advocates for the Rights of Marine Animals.
The Blackfish documentary will be Oct. 16 at 4 and 7 p.m. in the Park Library Auditorium.
The email of the president, Travis White, is white3tm@cmich.edu
