2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Letters from readers on the movement to ban Coke and a columnist's satirical piece
Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: Opinion
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Protest Against Coke Gains Strength on CampusTo the Editor:
The Student Labor Action Coalition is pleased to see that the Mac Weekly and Social Responsibility Committee (SRC) have chosen to support banning Coca-Cola from our campus. We sincerely hope that President Rosenberg and the college administration also choose to take such a principled stand for human rights, environmental protection, and workers' rights.
The Macalester community and workers and peasants around the world should expect nothing less. Despite the progress of the campaign, it has come to our attention that a small number of individuals believe that the decision on Coke was “hasty” or ill-informed. As activists who have been working to bring Coke's abuses to light for over two years, we would disagree. The gravity of Coke's offenses has always warranted immediate action. The evidence of labor, environmental, and human rights abuses is simply incontrovertible. The SRC does have major publicity problems (SLAC contacted the SRC ahead of time to get on the agenda, received no response, and was not told the location of the meeting.) However, the SRC's final decision does send the message that students' voices will be heard. We have renewed hope in the democratic process on campus.
For those who doubt the validity of Colombian, Indonesian, and Turkish workers', as well as Indian peasants' claims against Coke, we can only urge you to review the evidence with an unbiased eye. In addition, we invite the entire community to listen to three Colombian workers who will be visiting our campus on April 11th to share their experiences with Coca-Cola's Colombian subsidiary and its goons.
We praise those in the Macalester community who are willing to curb their consumer habits to save the lives and livelihoods of the most oppressed and exploited. We praise those who are willing to give credence to the cries of the poorest of the poor, even as one of the world's largest multinational corporations systematically attempts to silence them. We invite the entire community to move forward with us in the next few weeks to make sure justice is done. Indeed, we will not stop campaigning on behalf of those who are silenced and marginalized until they themselves tell us that their demands have been satisfied.
The Student Labor Action Coalition is pleased to see that the Mac Weekly and Social Responsibility Committee (SRC) have chosen to support banning Coca-Cola from our campus. We sincerely hope that President Rosenberg and the college administration also choose to take such a principled stand for human rights, environmental protection, and workers' rights.
The Macalester community and workers and peasants around the world should expect nothing less. Despite the progress of the campaign, it has come to our attention that a small number of individuals believe that the decision on Coke was “hasty” or ill-informed. As activists who have been working to bring Coke's abuses to light for over two years, we would disagree. The gravity of Coke's offenses has always warranted immediate action. The evidence of labor, environmental, and human rights abuses is simply incontrovertible. The SRC does have major publicity problems (SLAC contacted the SRC ahead of time to get on the agenda, received no response, and was not told the location of the meeting.) However, the SRC's final decision does send the message that students' voices will be heard. We have renewed hope in the democratic process on campus.
For those who doubt the validity of Colombian, Indonesian, and Turkish workers', as well as Indian peasants' claims against Coke, we can only urge you to review the evidence with an unbiased eye. In addition, we invite the entire community to listen to three Colombian workers who will be visiting our campus on April 11th to share their experiences with Coca-Cola's Colombian subsidiary and its goons.
We praise those in the Macalester community who are willing to curb their consumer habits to save the lives and livelihoods of the most oppressed and exploited. We praise those who are willing to give credence to the cries of the poorest of the poor, even as one of the world's largest multinational corporations systematically attempts to silence them. We invite the entire community to move forward with us in the next few weeks to make sure justice is done. Indeed, we will not stop campaigning on behalf of those who are silenced and marginalized until they themselves tell us that their demands have been satisfied.
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