By Andrew Fraley
Wondering why all the Coca-Cola machines on campus are empty? This is because, as of June 19, Stony Brook University has entered into a new ten-year exclusive contract with Pepsi. As the transition is being made over the summer, new Pepsi machines are replacing all of the old Coke machines, and will be ready for the fall semester.
For the past three years, Stony Brook University has been under pressure for selling Coca-Cola products, due to the company’s alleged workers’ rights and environmental violations throughout developing nations. In a drive led by The Social Justice Alliance (SJA), and supported by numerous other on and off campus organizations, many Stony Brook students protested the University’s contract with Coke. For more info regarding these protests, check out Issue 10, Volume 29 of The Stony Brook Press from the Spring ’08 semester.
But this comes as a bittersweet victory to the SJA and other student groups involved in the campaign. While their ultimate goal to remove Coke from the campus was realized, the administration refused to recognize the groups’ accomplishments. “…The administration not only refused to let us take part in the announcement they sent out, but they also did not acknowledge the fact that SJA, and other organizations supporting the campaign, influenced this decision,” said Anita Halasz, member of the SJA, Graduate Student Organization (GSO) and student member of the evaluation committee for the new contract bid. The SJA and other groups played a vital role in pressuring the administration to make these changes. Their work with SINALTRAINAL led to numerous resolutions calling for the ban of Coca-Cola products from organizations, including the GSO and the United University Professions (UUP).
While Stony Brook successfully removed Coke from its campus, other SUNY schools missed the opportunity. Albany has, in fact, renewed their contract with Coke. “Albany had the same information as Stony Brook in front of them about Coca-Cola’s abuses, along with a petition signed by over 1,200 students. For them to ignore the petition, the United University Professions (UUP) resolution, the GSO resolution and all the documentation of Coke’s abuses raises serious questions about the democratic nature of Albany’s decision,” said Jackie Hayes, member of Students for Workers’ Rights.
The contract is another exclusive deal with another major corporation. This is not considered ideal by the SJA and other activists involved with the campaign, but it’s a step in the right direction. As Charlene Obernauer, SJA member, noted, “…no workers in Pepsi’s bottling plants have requested solidarity from international human rights activists.”
August 5th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
That’s a stupid reason to drop Coca Cola on such a large level.
Why? Frankly I’d give Coca Cola the benefit of the doubt over the Social Justice Alliance that the allegations are not credible.
Did the administration find or review credible evidence that Coca Cola is violating the human rights of its workers? Or did it withdraw from a fight against a pressure campaign in order to avoid the negative publicity of a messy fight with an organization that… it does not want people to know exists on its campus?
If it’s the former, of course the administration should explain why it’s making the switch (I guess it hasn’t?).
If it’s the latter, then it’s perfectly understandable by the University is embarassed enough to want to make it go away as quickly as possible.
In any case, the administration needs to make its own proactive decisions on the companies it is willing to do business with, and why.
August 7th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Jorge,
The administration should be a reflection of the students’ wills in its decision making process. The SJA, along with outside organizations such as SINALTRAINAL, convinced numerous other organizations to pass motions to ban Coke from their meetings. This includes the GSO, GSEU, et al. I can’t recall all of them, but these were all very active groups on campus.
They eventually convinced the administration to create an evaluation committee to evaluate these claims. This committee found that Coke was in violation of human rights. These findings were based on independent investigations launched by unbiased 3rd parties. So these claims have been made by more than just the SJA.
And the fact that the administration approved of an evaluation committee, consisting of members of the SJA, GSO, etc. proves that, while their decision wasn’t based totally on the committee’s decision, there is a clear influence that deserves recognition.
From what I heard of SJA members, the Administration, surprisingly, received their campaign very well. It wasn’t a fight, or a withdrawal, the administration had been cooperating with the campaign for the past few years. The fact that they completely brushed over in the official announcement is a disservice to the SJA (and friends), who were clearly instrumental in the decision, as well as to students. Students do have the power to enact change at that kind of level, and the administration is trying to belittle that.
The administration is here to serve the students, not the other way around.
August 10th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Those studies are a lot of information that will never be in front of me personally, but you answered my most important question.
–”Students do have the power to enact change at that kind of level, and the administration is trying to belittle that.”
I don’t know. I can’t think of any other explanation.
That such a small group of students would have the power to have Coke banned from the meetings of other student organizations, from an entire campus, makes one wonder what else they might be able to do successfully, whether for good or ill. It’s just a thought.
Do I think the administration should consider the will of the students? Yes, I do. But it should also be independent of them and consider its other constituencies–alumni donors, the public, and its own values.
I’m very glad to see that it took years. That tells me they actually took the time to make a decision and reflect on what most students think instead of just bowing to a vocal minority. But then again, soda isn’t a very charged issue. It’s not an issue that could harm its students or cause distress to any student community.