Noelle Pappas
Staff Writer
During the last week of October, students found out two campus cats were killed by cars. Campus Cat Club has begun a petition that is working with campus Safety regarding more safety measures around busy traffic areas on campus.
The most recent deaths, Carrot and Jasper, happened at busy intersections near campus. Carrot was hit on Lake Hollingsworth Drive and Johnson Avenue, while Jasper was over on Frank Lloyd Wright Way. The Campus Cat Club, like many students, are grieving the losses of these cats.
This petition was created by Christina Meiser, Campus Cat Club founder and current care team member, and Nicole Richmond, Cat Club President, after the deaths of Carrot and Jasper. It has surpassed the original 1,000 signature goal and is now aiming for 1,500 signatures, as of Nov. 7. While the petition was started independently by the club, they still hope the college will provide support when approaching the City of Lakeland.
“After their deaths, the execs had a meeting where we decided to create this petition to vouch for speed bumps, cat crossing signs, speed limit signs, and other traffic safety measures,” Richmond said.
Not only would this petition make the roads safer for the cats, but for pedestrians as well.
“The end result would be these different safety measures put in place to possibly avoid something worse than what has already occurred in these areas. With these precautions we hope to make FSC an even safer place for both humans and animals” Richmond said. “While these measures will help the cats, we mainly want this to protect the student body as well.”
The petition looks to gain “support of not only the student body, but safety as well to truly have the help of Florida Southern College with us in this effort,” Richmond said.
Before Carrot and Jasper, there were other cats that died due to a road accident. Cats like Christina-Renee, Batman and Fuzzy were all hit by cars.
Nonetheless, students tend to cling to these cats. Their welcoming presence, likability and comfort brings a lot of security to students who are looking for something comforting. Richmond said that “people use many of these cats as emotional support animals.” Students frequently notice that cats become a part of their daily routine, as they tend to hang out around the same areas.
The Campus Cat Club has been on campus since 2015 and has been officially recognized by the Student Government Association since 2016. They hold events geared toward fundraising, in order to assist with the costs of food, vet care and anything else the cats may need.
Caretakers are responsible for many things, like feeding the cats, giving them their medications, cleaning their stations, monitoring their health and much more. Through doing so, they develop close relationships with the cats and become attached to them, making deaths that much harder.
“We love each and every cat as one of our own. Losing an older cat to cancer or other age-related ailments is heartbreaking enough… additional deaths caused by cars have absolutely devastated our team. We hope the petition will result in the improvement of traffic safety around campus, thus making Florida Southern a safer place for both humans and the cats,” Meiser said on behalf of the Campus Cat Club.
