Ravens are now allowed to eat in Lola Tilly Commons after a recent petition vote by students led by the student committee Food For Thought.

"I'm so exited," said Luisba Agouti, a freshman ornithology major from Antarctica. "My boyfriend is a raven and now we get to dine together." Agouti and her boyfriend, Scratch, have been together since the beginning of the semester and helped start the petition to allow ravens in the commons.

Agouti's first love was a penguin named Dopey, but since moving to Alaska she's fallen for the local birds.

"There has been a long standing ban on ravens in the commons," said Dining Services General Manager Dave Sikorski. "Ravens commonly rip things up, drop things and they pretty much never clean up after themselves."

But the 154 ravens that were previously allowed in the area behind the commons known as Blackbird Lane lodged many complaints of their own regarding the service provided there. Ravens had to select their own food and stand in the snow while eating. There often were only a few scraps available, leading to the occasional cockfight.

Agouti started gathering signatures for the petition back in January when Scratch complained that their relationship was becoming stale because of lack of quality time. The crisp weather outdoors was also a factor in starting the petition.

"Squawk, squawk. Ga-lunk!" said Chuckler, a 2-year-old bird from Fairbanks.

The ban regarding ravens in the Commons was lifted March 17. Agouti and Scratch now eat together at every meal and use the same tray to help cut down on the time it takes for employees to wash dishes.

"It's great," said Lisa Jones who washes dishes at the commons. "They're used to gnawing on road kill, so the dishes are practically clean by the time I see them!"