Here at Binghamton University, students have a diverse range of diets. Some of us are vegan, others are vegetarian, and some just want to eat plant-based more often. Unfortunately, our dining halls offer very few vegan options, leaving vegan and vegetarian students struggling to find meals to stay properly nourished.

Last semester, many longtime vegan options were rebranded as only being “plant-based” owing to the inclusion of non-vegan sugar and honey and this semester Sodexo temporarily closed Planta, a plant-based station at CIW and Hinman. Setbacks like these only compound the difficulty of being plant-based on campus.

We call on Sodexo to reverse this pattern and return to increasing the number and quality of vegan options at our dining halls. This will not only make life easier for vegan and vegetarian students, but it will also help those trying to reduce their animal product consumption for health or religious reasons.