2008 Woodie Awards
Farewell to Coke?
By: Matt Won, Opinion Editor
Issue date: 3/10/06 Section: News
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[img_assist|fid=248|thumb=1|alt=Coke Graphic]
A two-year long struggle for campus activists has perhaps come to an end. Macalesterâ?TMs Social Responsibility Committee (SRC) recommended Mar. 1 to ban Coca-Cola products from campus. The recommendation, by a unanimous vote of the committee members, will go to President Brian Rosenberg, who many expect to sign off on the ban.
Surprised? So is almost everyone else on campus, including the Committeeâ?TMs members, who werenâ?TMt aware before the meeting that a vote would occur.
â?oeI do think that everyone was a little surprised at how quickly the vote came around, and thought that perhaps it might have just kind of rolled a little quickly,â?? said Dean of Students Laurie Hamre, who is also a non-voting SRC members. â?oeItâ?TMs not usually how the committee would work.
â?oeI believe that the committee wouldâ?TMve probably taken this action eventually anyway,â?? said professor Marjorie Merryman, the SRC chair who called the vote. â?oeWe didnâ?TMt feel like we were doing this without there ever having been a discussion of it.â??
Merryman is currently drafting a letter to Coca-Cola for President Brian Rosenbergâ?TMs possible signature. The schoolâ?TMs decision will go public when that process is finished, likely within the next several weeks. At this point, Coca-Cola products will disappear from campus vending machines, the Highlander store, the Grille and Café Mac. Beverage contracts would remain unchanged, as the college currently has a contract with a third-party vendor, not with Coke.
This move comes amid a wave of announcements from schools like New York University and the University of Michigan that have dumped Coca-Cola pending an independent investigation of the companyâ?TMs labor practices in Colombia. The SRC, which advises the administration on ethical institutional behavior, had previously called for an independent investigation, but received no response from Coke. According to Merryman, this lack of response prompted the SRC vote last week.
A two-year long struggle for campus activists has perhaps come to an end. Macalesterâ?TMs Social Responsibility Committee (SRC) recommended Mar. 1 to ban Coca-Cola products from campus. The recommendation, by a unanimous vote of the committee members, will go to President Brian Rosenberg, who many expect to sign off on the ban.
Surprised? So is almost everyone else on campus, including the Committeeâ?TMs members, who werenâ?TMt aware before the meeting that a vote would occur.
â?oeI do think that everyone was a little surprised at how quickly the vote came around, and thought that perhaps it might have just kind of rolled a little quickly,â?? said Dean of Students Laurie Hamre, who is also a non-voting SRC members. â?oeItâ?TMs not usually how the committee would work.
â?oeI believe that the committee wouldâ?TMve probably taken this action eventually anyway,â?? said professor Marjorie Merryman, the SRC chair who called the vote. â?oeWe didnâ?TMt feel like we were doing this without there ever having been a discussion of it.â??
Merryman is currently drafting a letter to Coca-Cola for President Brian Rosenbergâ?TMs possible signature. The schoolâ?TMs decision will go public when that process is finished, likely within the next several weeks. At this point, Coca-Cola products will disappear from campus vending machines, the Highlander store, the Grille and Café Mac. Beverage contracts would remain unchanged, as the college currently has a contract with a third-party vendor, not with Coke.
This move comes amid a wave of announcements from schools like New York University and the University of Michigan that have dumped Coca-Cola pending an independent investigation of the companyâ?TMs labor practices in Colombia. The SRC, which advises the administration on ethical institutional behavior, had previously called for an independent investigation, but received no response from Coke. According to Merryman, this lack of response prompted the SRC vote last week.
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