So long story short, I decided to make the move to become a vegetarian shortly before arriving back to school for the current semester. I had watched a documentary that may or may not be accurate, yet it gave me the push that I had so desperately needed to make the commitment, as I had wanted to for a long time before, but never found the drive to do so.

Coming back to Athens, I was excited to jump into this new lifestyle, yet I had no idea just how difficult it would be.

You see, I live on East Green, and the dining halls most readily available to me are Nelson and Shively, and the options for vegetarian students are nearly abysmal. Shively’s section for vegetarian options has two trays filled with their daily vegetarian dishes, and oftentimes, there is little left for a hungry student to grab. However, that’s still far better than Nelson, which has no designated section for vegetarian options whatsoever.

Now, of course, each place to get food within these halls isn’t dishing out meat and nothing else, but the sides and meatless entrees are most commonly filled with carbs and lacking any real nutritional value, such as grilled cheese, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, pasta, french fries, pizza, etc.

We still have a salad bar to rely on, but who wants to eat salad every day? I definitely don’t.

I’m not saying it’s impossible to be a vegetarian on OU’s campus, but it’s definitely not easy. I can’t even imagine being a vegan on this campus, for it’s far harder to find a variety of meals that fit the vegan diet.

I feel as though something needed to be said about this subject, and there needs to be more options for students with restrictive diets, especially when there are so many college campuses around the world that go the extra mile to cater to these lifestyles in a healthy and vast fashion.