The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.
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Should PETA use sex and stars to sell a cause? with Dan Mathews
February 9, 2015
Should PETA use sex and stars to sell a cause? Does PETA go too far in its campaigns? PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews gave a riviting talk at the Bob Graham Center on Monday, Feb. 9 in the Pugh Hall Ocora on the organization’s provocative tactics.
Mathews is the irreverent force behind PETA’s colorful crusades and star-studded stunts, such as the iconic “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign. He convinced Calvin Klein to stop using fur after leading a raid on the designer’s office, pressured GM to stop using animals in crash tests by storming the company’s float in the Rose Parade, and lobbied Gillette to halt product tests on animals after impersonating a janitor and wheeling a TV into the company’s cafeteria to show graphic video footage of the experiments.
Mathews, who has been twice named to Out magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential gays, has persuaded a nonstop parade of stars—including Pink, Paul McCartney, and Pamela Anderson—to protest, pose nude, or even go to jail for animal rights. He has been profiled by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today, and has lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, and Columbia universities. His acclaimed memoir, Committed, was published by Simon & Schuster.
This program is sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, The Florida Free Speech Forum and the College of Journalism and Communications.
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