College Vegetarian Club Told to Stop Serving Meals

There will be no more free veggie hot dogs, pita bread or corn chips at the Santa Monica College Vegetarian Club’s weekly “Lunch ‘N Lecture” series.

County health inspectors--who were contacted by college authorities--have shut down the club’s lunchtime food service because the group lacked proper permits. The club also was ordered by the college to stop using amplified sound for their lectures because the noise could bother other students.

Ryan Flegal, 22, the club’s spokesman, charged that the shutdown was a move by the administration to silence club members’ voices.

“We actually have the cleanest, healthiest food around,” said Flegal, whose group invites weekly speakers on topics such as rain forest destruction and energy conservation. “I think the administration is afraid of activism that looks like the 1960s.”

College officials contend the issue is purely one of public health and college liability. The club’s faculty advisor quit last semester after a dispute with the group. Under campus policy the club cannot be officially recognized without a faculty advisor.

Despite the club’s unofficial status it is allowed to meet weekly on campus. College President Piedad Robertson is considering a request by the group to sign their permit application, which would allow them to go ahead with the operation. The club typically serves about 100 students free food donated by local organic food companies.