2008 Woodie Awards
Students Lobby to Kick Coke Off Campus
Meagan Rossi
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Students for Social Justice and Institutional Change (SSJIC) held a "Kick Coke Off Campus" party last Thursday, February 3, in the Campus Center. It was a casual event in the basement, with a DJ and plenty of food and Coca-Cola alternatives for students to sample. Some of the alternatives were POLAR seltzer, Cape Cod Dry and a few generic brands of cola. Students were also able to make patches for bags and clothing, while reading up on the recent activities of Coca-Cola as well as about the past relationship of Coke and Smith College.
The "Coke Off Campus" campaign began in response to the decision by SINALTRAINAL, a Columbian food workers' union, to make public to the international media the alleged human rights abuses of Coca-Cola last spring. The right-wing paramilitaries in control of the corporate branches there have recently threatened and assassinated several union leaders. The executive Coke office claims that it cannot be held responsible for the political situation abroad.
But from right on campus, some students are calling on Coke to assume more corporate social responsibility. "Instead of randomly going to rallies, students should realize that colleges are complicit in the global economy, and make the change here," said Emma Roderick '07.
Sira Wolf '05 spent last semester in India working with an organization called LOK SAMTI, roughly translated as "I people the peoples." While working in India, Wolf saw Coke dumping toxic waste that eventually made its way into the groundwater. This then destroyed crops such as mangoes and chickpeas, and made the people and animals sick as well. After a long effort to remove Coke from the village, "they just moved the pipeline to another village," said Wolf.
Next week, students are meeting with administrators Ruth Constantine, vice president of finance and administration, and Kathy Zieja, director of Dining Services, to discuss removing Coke from campus. The contract with Coke expires in 2007, and the SSJIC hopes that once this contract expires, the presence of Coke on campus will expire as well. As for the alternatives, "They're not perfect, but they're better than what we have now," explained Stina Soderling '06.
Many other colleges across the United States are moving to remove Coke from their campuses as well. Oberlin recently joined a list of colleges, such as Salem State, Lake Forest and Carleton, that have removed Coke. UMass Amherst came very close to ending Coke on its campus last year, but the contract was renewed in the end. POLAR, a local company based in Worchester, did make a bid to replace Coke, showing that it has the purchasing power to supply a smaller school such as Smith College.
"I like my Coke, but I'm willing to give alternatives a try. Coke isn't really very good for me anyway," said Hilary Homler '07. Many students seemed to jump to the conclusion that should Coke not be available on campus, then Pepsi would be the immediate replacement. However, the concept is to try to avoid corporations that evade political and social responsibilities, or are so large as to be able to mask many of their alleged unethical activities.
The "Coke Off Campus" campaign began in response to the decision by SINALTRAINAL, a Columbian food workers' union, to make public to the international media the alleged human rights abuses of Coca-Cola last spring. The right-wing paramilitaries in control of the corporate branches there have recently threatened and assassinated several union leaders. The executive Coke office claims that it cannot be held responsible for the political situation abroad.
But from right on campus, some students are calling on Coke to assume more corporate social responsibility. "Instead of randomly going to rallies, students should realize that colleges are complicit in the global economy, and make the change here," said Emma Roderick '07.
Sira Wolf '05 spent last semester in India working with an organization called LOK SAMTI, roughly translated as "I people the peoples." While working in India, Wolf saw Coke dumping toxic waste that eventually made its way into the groundwater. This then destroyed crops such as mangoes and chickpeas, and made the people and animals sick as well. After a long effort to remove Coke from the village, "they just moved the pipeline to another village," said Wolf.
Next week, students are meeting with administrators Ruth Constantine, vice president of finance and administration, and Kathy Zieja, director of Dining Services, to discuss removing Coke from campus. The contract with Coke expires in 2007, and the SSJIC hopes that once this contract expires, the presence of Coke on campus will expire as well. As for the alternatives, "They're not perfect, but they're better than what we have now," explained Stina Soderling '06.
Many other colleges across the United States are moving to remove Coke from their campuses as well. Oberlin recently joined a list of colleges, such as Salem State, Lake Forest and Carleton, that have removed Coke. UMass Amherst came very close to ending Coke on its campus last year, but the contract was renewed in the end. POLAR, a local company based in Worchester, did make a bid to replace Coke, showing that it has the purchasing power to supply a smaller school such as Smith College.
"I like my Coke, but I'm willing to give alternatives a try. Coke isn't really very good for me anyway," said Hilary Homler '07. Many students seemed to jump to the conclusion that should Coke not be available on campus, then Pepsi would be the immediate replacement. However, the concept is to try to avoid corporations that evade political and social responsibilities, or are so large as to be able to mask many of their alleged unethical activities.