In 2002 I was invited to the wedding of two wonderful vet students at Oregon State U. I first met Brad and Hannah through their campaign for humane alternatives to harmful animal use in their veterinary course, while waging a similar (ultimately successful) struggle at my own vet school in Australia. In the midst of their campaign, with tempers flying at their vet school as the atrocities of their lethal surgical labs were exposed on the front page, they decided to get married! Being the extremely cool people that they are, they decided on a ‘hiking, camping, vegan potluck wedding in a forest.’ Well, after I flew into Portland, Oregon, we drove for about 30 miles through ever-deeper forest along a beautiful winding river, to the trailhead. Guests had to hike for a mile through pristine forest to reach the wedding site on the banks of the river. We carried in all the food, water and gear.
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Brad and Hannah Evergreen.
Being the extremely cool, green and non-sexist people that they are, Brad and Hannah chose the mutual surname Evergreen! This what I’d do if I ever got married. Choosing the male surname is blatantly sexist. Hyphenating names becomes unwieldy after a couple of generations. So choosing a new, shared surname that reflects your shared spirit has always made the most sense to me.