A step in the right direction

In print | February 23, 2006

To the Editor:

STAFF EDITORIAL

After over a year of planning, organizing, and getting signatures, the Kick Coke Campaign has initiated and executed the first big step in removing Coca-Cola products from the campus. The student-led campaign has successfully removed bottled Coke products from Essie Mae’s and the coffee bars in Kohlberg and the Science Center. It is refreshing to see the gains that are made by on-campus “protest” or social change groups because this change from Coke products to Pepsi products helps to give the Kick Coke Campaign some credibility on campus and in the national (and hopefully international) arena.

The Kick Coke campaign has been the focus of attack by many students on campus, who call the campaign naïve, idealistic, insignificant, haphazard, or uninformed. A development such as the one that occurred recently helps to vindicate the cause of the campaign and place Swarthmore College among the institutions that have had enough student response to Coke’s human and labor rights violations to enact a change. Hopefully the replacement of Coke products in these three locations around campus will act as a catalyst to the campaign’s larger goal of total removal of Coca-Cola products from campus, which could occur in 2007 when the college’s contract with Coke terminates and the possibility for change becomes available.

Having worked with the campaign last semester, I have seen the group’s determination to disclose the labor abuses involving the deaths of union leaders in Colombia and human rights abuses involving the misappropriation of large amounts of ground water in India for use in creating their product. The group was resolute, even when the members received backlash in verbal and print forms. I am glad that their willingness to work for a large-scale, bureaucracy-entangled cause has not diminished throughout the year.

Through events such as Kick Coke Fridays, where group members would offer those entering into Sharples non-Coke beverages, a Kick Coke Kegger and guest lecturers, the campaign has at least raised the awareness of the student body concerning all of the activities that go into creating, bottling, and manufacturing a “hot” commodity such as Coke beverages. Even if one thinks that the campaign has too small of a focus or that the group is not as fully informed as oneself is, no one can deny that the campaign has made Swat students think more carefully before they drink.

Stephen Graf ’09

To the Editor:

The recent decision to pull Coca-Cola products from Swarthmore’s coffee bars and Essie Mae’s is both necessary and just, and is a reflection of the community’s dedication to promoting social justice here and everywhere. Our administration has a responsibility to pay attention to the needs of students. This campaign received significant support from the student body and the College’s decision is a reflection of their awareness of and consideration for the student body’s appeals. The Kick Coke campaign is part of a nationwide movement to address serious issues of social responsibility on the part of major corporations. While individually, these victories may be small, collectively, they have the potential to make a huge difference. History has shown that collective action is the way to effect change and better the situations of those we have the ability to help.

At Swarthmore, this victory shows us that we do have a privilege, an opportunity and a responsibility to be conscious of the decisions we make. We must be aware of other options, and should opt for those that are better for all even if it requires a sacrifice, change and commitment.

Rita Kamani ’08

To the Editor:

I’m really glad that Swarthmore is going to switch Essie Mae’s and the Coffee Bars to Pepsi! Ethical purchasing on an institutional level is important because it can have a much bigger impact on companies than my individual decision to not drink Coke. It’s also an important example of how we as students can have real influence over the way our school spends money. President Bloom, Vice Presidents Eldridge and Hain etc. already be supportive of “ethical intelligence” in general, but it’s only after a year of students talking to the administration that Swarthmore put its rhetoric into practice.

I just wish it hadn’t taken so long for them to decide, especially considering this switch costs no money. Hopefully, now that the administration has taken this step, they will also (quickly) make the decision to get rid of Coke in Sharples.