Brandeis was nominated to the youth animal rights group peta2's annual Most Vegetarian-Friendly Colleges list, according to a press release e-mailed to the Justice on Oct. 23. Brandeis is the only Boston-area school that was nominated this year, the contest's third year. "With nearly 300 student organizations on campus and a history of student activism that goes back decades, the university is consistently raising the bar on what dining should be. Some of the many options offered [at Brandeis] include vegan dumplings, grilled seitan tips and African sweet-potato gratin with golden raisins," the press release said.

According to its Facebook Web site, peta2 is the world's largest youth animal rights group. Peta2's goal is to provide the information, literature, advice and stickers "you need to get active."

In an interview with the Justice, peta2's college campaign coordinator Ryan Huling said, "We pick nominees based on the consistency and quality of meatless food."

"Brandeis has really made significant improvements over the last year. Brandeis has gone above and beyond to meet the needs of its students to provide these options," Huling said.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Director of Dining Services Mike Newmark explained that "the demand for vegetarian and vegan options in dining continues to grow each year." He also wrote, "We work hard at providing numerous dining options and menus to meet various lifestyles and food preferences."

The rest of the 32 nominated schools were also chosen based on feedback through MySpace, Facebook and the peta2 blog. There will be five rounds of voting before the winning school is announced Nov. 17. Anyone is eligible to vote on peta2's Web site. Information about each school's vegan options and other vegan options offered nationwide is available on the Web site.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Newmark wrote, "I appreciate this recognition. I am fortunate to have a very skilled, dedicated and experienced management and hourly employee team working for Dining Services. It takes a team effort to create such positive change. Feedback from the entire Brandeis community is a road map to implementing key initiatives that increase satisfaction."

Huling said, "One in four [students] is actively seeking vegan options for health reasons and environmental concerns."

He said, "This is the first year Brandeis has been listed. If the positive feedback continues from Brandeis, I would look forward to seeing them on the list in the future."

Huling said, "A lot of students are more conscious of environmental issues. A lot of students are making decisions to make their campuses more environmentally sustainable. I have seen this in a lot of schools this year. A lot of schools are trying to increase sustainability through recycling and greening buildings. Another logical step would be to expand the vegan and vegetarian options at school, which Brandeis has done."

Newmark wrote that he intends to "continue to listen and be responsive to the needs of the community" in order to continue to make Brandeis more vegetarian-friendly.