Radical Ethical Commitments on Campus: Results of Interviews with College-Aged Vegetarians

Abstract

This study examined the ethical development and commitments of campus radicals, drawing from extended, semi-structured interviews with 22 ethical vegetarian students at a large public university. The results of the interviews suggest that participants in the study are ethically precocious, sustaining a range of mature, pluralistic ethical commitments while still in college. Students often feel out of place on campus as a result of these commitments; they feel misunderstood by peers, unchallenged in the classroom, and underserved by campus administration. The study, which utilized Perry’s scheme of development (1999), concludes with suggestions for faculty and administrators that might better integrate politically progressive students into the campus community.