ARCO's Abolitionists - A Vegan Forum

So I attend the University of Wisconsin-Superior (UWS). Its a very small school of about 2,000 students. I am more or less running the animal rights student org here (The Abolitionists for Animal Liberation). There four other members of the group, two of which are married and the other two know each other well, but the two sets of two don't know each other. One of the two non-married pair, I've only met once and the other has decided she doesn't want to be part of the group. And here's the kicker... we've never had a meeting... in nearly two years! Why? I don't know, I set up a meeting and no one shows, I request everyone's available times and no one gets back to me. I have track people down, sometimes go so far as to go to their house to get them sign the org member sheet (the school requires that an org have at least 5 active members) Now, I also take a cross-registered course at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD), just across border. I am involved in their animal group called Advocates for Animal Welfare. Just recently two of the most active members of the UMD group finally met the married couple and two former members of the group (who graduated from UWS a few years ago) at the Shrine Circus protest last week. Now, here's the problem, there is only one other person in this entire group of people other than myself who is an abolitionist (he's a UMD student). The two of us are abolitionists drowning in a sea of new welfarism. I tried different ways of explaining the differences between the two ways of thinking and I've tried to explain to them why we shouldn't do a cage-free egg campaign and they just don't get it. I've told them they should read Rain Without Thunder and have offered to let them borrow my copy or I ask them to listen to the Francione/Marcus debate, and still nothing. Half of the members aren't even vegan, and two or so aren't even vegetarians. It feels like the two of us are surrounded by PeTA-philes. On a positive note, the UWS group will be receiving over $5,000 next year which will be spent on a trip to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary, a couple of speakers, and maybe printing of some homemade abolitionist zines or pamphlets. So, my question is to all you folks... do you have any advice for us two lonely abolitionists?

Hi, I feel your pain regarding the student group stuff. There's nothing at my school because I can't get 8 student signatures and a faculty advisor together! (But perhaps that's just as well because I probably would have fallen into new welfare traps; I'm not terribly solid in my abolitionism yet.) Regarding the others, if they won't read a book or listen to a podcast, will they at least read stuff online? I don't think I actually listened to the debate, I just read the transcript online. And I would think that of the abolitionist bloggers out there, someone would be able to "speak to" them in a way that resonates.

My advice is not to wait for others, but to get started. Once you are visibly doing things, others may come join you in the cause.