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BY APOLLINE BERTY

In print | November 30, 2006

As a result of Kick Coke’s heightened efforts to encourage more humanitarian Coca-Cola policies this past semester, Coke will disappear from the campus after winter break. In order to ensure future dialogue with the company, Kick Coke’s main goal now is to target the Coca-Cola Company’s image and use the media to widely publicize this development, with the hope of getting the company to agree to an independent investigation of its practices.

Formed two years ago, Kick Coke is a group that has worked against the Coca-Cola Company’s alleged infringements on human rights and environmental policies. Such violations involve Coca-Cola factories in Colombia that were the site of the murders of eight union leaders.

Additionally, there have been egregious environmental abuses attributed to Coke in India, such as water shortages and pollution of the remaining water in areas surrounding Coca-Cola bottling plants.

To protest against such violations, many colleges have tried dialoguing with the company. When this method has proven ineffective, some student groups have banned Coca-Cola products from their campuses entirely.

As a step up from their primary goal last year to raise awareness on campus, this semester Kick Coke has been more closely linked with the administration in trying to communicate with Coca-Cola. Since this has not produced the desired response, administrators, in consultation with Kick Coke, have decided to put pressure on the company by ridding the campus of Coke products.

Ruth Schultz ‘09, a member of Kick Coke, said that while this move is a mere drop in the bucket for Coca-Cola, she thinks it will make a difference. "Swarthmore is so small that the money Coke will lose from the college won’t affect them financially," she said. “We can make an impact by targeting their image because Coke highly values its image.”

Zoe Bridges-Curry ‘09 agreed that the impact Swarthmore can have on Coke’s image will be Kick Coke’s greatest asset in pushing for reform of the company’s inhumane practices.

“We often hear, ‘so what happens now? Are you guys done?’ We are not done because we are working to get as much media coverage as possible,” Schultz said. “Through the media we can pressure Coke to reform its abusive practices around the world.”

Presently, Kick Coke is working with the administration to write a letter to the Coca-Cola Company requesting a private investigation of the problems in Colombia and India. While there have been similar investigations before, Bridges-Curry said many of them have not been reliable. “In the past, non-independent investigations of labor conditions have not been credible and later, independent investigations have often found abuses ‘overlooked’ by the non-independent one,” she said.

By encouraging this investigation and further media attention, Kick Coke hopes to help the Coca-Cola Company review its policies. “Coke is the market leader in soda brands today, and if we can make them change their practices, the others will fall in line,” Schultz said.

Instead of Coca-Cola, the campus will now turn to Pepsi for its supply of soda. Although Associate Vice President for Facilities Stu Hain is currently working with Kick Coke on their efforts, he has his qualms about the change. “To change to Pepsi is roughly three times more expensive,” he said. Another concern that he invoked was whether the effort would stay alive when involved students graduate. He said that it was ultimately important for the college to evaluate Coke and consider renewing a contract with them.

The next big step for Kick Coke is the press release that will provide the group with some media attention, an element that they find vital to persuade Coke to improve its policies. Hain agreed with the group that it is through Coke’s image that Swarthmore will be most effective, and he claimed that the administration will do all it can to provide Kick Coke with as much media attention as possible. “The press coverage will be important and will keep conversation going,” he said.

Coke has already offered to send a representative to Swarthmore in order to discuss the matter in detail. “Coke has been interested in continuing the dialogue with us,” Hain said.

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