The group of vegetarians and vegans shook bells and waved signs. One protester bounded to the top of the steps of Schwab in a Jersey cow costume -- his udders dangling -- to rally the group for its walk to the Ag Arena to express displeasure about the 1999 Pennsylvania Beef Exposition held this weekend.

"I don't support the industry at all, and I don't support the university supporting it," State College resident Hakim Bay, 26, said before the protest. "(The protest activities) are a celebration of a more sustainable lifestyle and people."

Bay added a group of people had decided recently to protest the exposition. The group has not elected officers and does not have a specific agenda of grievances against either the university or the beef exposition.

Before the march, Joe Shannon, 54, of Altoona explained to the group his personal reasons for not consuming meat. He said he has not eaten meat for 30 years, since he was a sportsman.

"I developed a compassion for all living things -- fish, animals, bugs, plants," Shannon said. "I kind of figured out whatever runs away from you is not yours to take. If it flees, it's not for you. These animals were put here for our use maybe, but not our abuse."

Cheers erupted after his speech and one protester brandished a fake butcher's knife above his head. Two protesters carried a sign that read, "The beef expo has got to go." They paraded to the Ag Arena, located across the street from Beaver Stadium on Park Avenue, where they waved signs at cars until about 2 p.m.

Penn State Police Services said there were no problems between protesters and expo attendees.

While some protesters and Hare Krishnas who had joined the rally danced frantically on the grass outside, the exposition continued inside uninterrupted.

Glenn Eberly, chair of the exposition, said neither the 4-year-old event nor 26-year-old bull show had ever drawn public outcry. The exposition features breed and bull shows, children's shows and an Angus sale. The group, he said, did not enter the building.

Claims made of inhumane animal treatment against the beef industry are often unfounded, he said.

"Unfortunately, it's just ignorance on their part," Eberly said. "People who are in the livestock business -- it's in their best interests to make animals comfortable."

Eberly also explained the beef industry is essential for wise land use because livestock can be raised on land where cereal grain cannot be grown.

In Pennsylvania, which has a larger dairy industry than beef, many farms are involved part time in raising cattle, Eberly said. Herds of cattle in the state, he added, average between 25 to 30 animals.

Some participants in the rally said their purpose was not to convince others to cut meat out of their diets, but to celebrate vegetarianism and call attention to animal issues.

Robyn Stephens (senior-sociology) said she participated in the protest to break the silence. "If we don't say anything about (the beef expo)," Stephens said, "we condone it."

An onlooker at the Schwab rally, Jessica Minard (senior-speech communications) said although she supported freedom of speech, she didn't think the group's methods were effective.

Minard noted the cow costume, and several of the signs, one that read "Eat beans, not beings."

"It kind of makes a mockery of what they're doing," she said. "It's cute. You laugh."