Coca-Cola contracts to be terminated
Company attempts to keep contracts
by Timothy Cama | Llama Ledger Staff
Issue date: 5/9/07 Section: News
It's official. Starting this summer, Coca-Cola products will not be sold on Simon's Rock's campus, according to an global email from Provost and Vice President Mary Marcy. But the Coca-Cola Company is not quite as happy about it as the other parties involved, it seems.
Attached to Marcy's email was an email to her from Director of Administration and Finance Jon MacClaren, who oversees all of the school's contracts that allow Coca-Cola products to be sold.
"Over this summer, we will cancel our contracts with suppliers of Coca-Cola products and replace Coke products with more acceptable beverage products," MacClaren said in the email, which also contained a letter from Activist Collective, the student-run group spearheading the campaign to remove Coca-Cola from the campus, detailing the reasons for the decision.
After collecting signatures of over half of the Simon's Rock community in support of the decision to remove Coca-Cola, Activist Collective presented their case at a Community Meeting earlier this semester.
At that meeting, MacClaren charged Community Council with the task of deciding whether or not to stop the sale of Coca-Cola products. The Council decided shortly thereafter to support the Collective's cause, according to a global email from Chair Chris Werter.
"Based on the startling human rights violations of the Coca-Cola company, Council has decided that it is in the best interests of the Simon's Rock community to support the Activist Collective in the removal of Coca-Cola products from our campus," Werter wrote in the email.
Academic Senate similarly voted to support the Collective's cause in a meeting earlier this semster, according to Katharina Kempf, a member of the Collective.
Werter was referring to Coca-Cola's alleged murdering, torturing and kidnapping of union leaders in Colombia and poor treatment of bottling plant employees, among other violations. In addition, the Collective claims that Coca-Cola plants have used vast amounts of water in India, effectively privitizing the water supply.
The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke
In stopping the sale of Coca-Cola products, Simon's Rock joins just over 40 colleges and universities (and more high schools) across the world, according to Ray Rogers, director and founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke. The Campaign helps to inform and assist colleges, universities and high schools who wish to stop the sale of Coca-Cola products at their schools.
"This is a terrific job by the students," Rogers says of Simon's Rock's campaign. Rogers was pleased that Simon's Rock's administration was so supportive of the student-led campaign, in contrast to administrations at many other schools who have attempted such campaigns.
Among the colleges and universities who have run successful campaigns are Rutgers University (one of the largest universities in the country, with about 60,000 students), New York University (the largest private university in the country) and DePaul Univeristy (the largest Catholic university in the country).
Schools closer to Simon's Rock's size have also held successful campaigns, such as the 500-student Union Theological Seminary, according to Rogers.
Local schools have also led successful campaigns, such as Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. Smith College, in nearby Northampton, Mass. announced approximately two weeks ago that it had decided to stop the sale of Coca-Cola products on its campus as well.
When Kempf began the campaign a few months ago, she did not seek help from the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, since she believed they wouldn't want to help a school of Simon's Rock's size with its campaign.
But shortly after Marcy announced Simon's Rock's decision, Jenn Smith, a reporter with The Berkshire Eagle, contacted Rogers while doing research for a story about Simon's Rock's campaign.
Rogers, who was at the University of Minnesota at the time to help them with their campaign, thought Smith wanted to talk with him about Smith College's recently-completed campaign, since he had not heard about Simon's Rock's campaign.
But when Smith told him about the decision, he was estatic. In fact, when speaking at the University of Minnesota during that trip, he announced the news of Simon's Rock's successful campaign to them.
"Simon's Rock is just as much of a leader as any other school," says Rogers, denouncing the myth that a school of Simon's Rock's size is not important to the larger campaign.
By focusing on colleges and universities, Rogers says the Campaign is hitting one of Coca-Cola's main markets.
"Coke likes to have 'brand campuses'," says Rogers. Rogers says that when a student graduates, he will likely bring the Coca-Cola brand into the rest of the world with him, something that the company counts on.
Trying to Retain Contracts
Simon's Rock is not only important to the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, but it is also important to the Coca-Cola Company, as was shown recently when the Simon's Rock Bookstore, managed by Follett Higher Education group, terminated its contract with the company.
By default, all Follett stores carry Coca-Cola products, according to Sara Monsonis, manager of the Simon's Rock Bookstore.
If a school with which Follett has a contract decides it doesn't want a certain product, like Coca-Cola, at its store, the store can make that change.
But when Monsonis called Coca-Cola's regional manager to terminate their contract, in accordance with the change MacClaren requested, the manager wasn't very happy.
"He was very upset. He asked why, and I told him this was a decision by the students, and I had no control over it," says Monsonis. "They made the choice and that was that," Monsonis recalls telling him.
Within days, a regional public relations representative contacted Monsonis, asking if anything could be done. After Monsonis told her the decision was final, the representative asked to allow Coca-Cola to come to the Simon's Rock campus to defend themselves.
Monsonis told the representative that if the students wanted it, they would invite her.
The representative continued her attempts to preserve their contract with the store, even coming on-campus to talk with the Office of Student Affairs. She was unsuccessful in reaching anyone, but left Monsonis some information and requested that she distribute it to students.
In the packet of information, the Company supposedly addresses all of the Campaign's concerns with unions in Colombia and water in India.
"Coca-Cola bottlers enjoy extensive, normal relations with 12 unions in Colombia and currently have collective bargaining agreements in place covering wages, benefits and working conditions," asserts the four-page document.
"The beverage industry is responsible for less than one half of one percent of total water usage in India, making it one of the most efficient users of water in the country. The Coca-Cola Company specifically has reduced our water use ratios in India by 34 percent between 1999 and 2005," it claims in another section.
After discussing the issue, Activist Collective decided that they did not want the public relations representative to come to Simon's Rock as she had requested.
Instead, the representative scheduled a meeting with MacClaren to discuss the issue. However, the Collective has made it clear that the decision will not be reversed.
Though the contracts with Simon's Rock are relatively small, the Company is concerned with the growing Campaign, according to Kempf. Every time another school decided to join the campaign, it grows larger and larger, gaining momentum and giving Coca-Cola a bad reputation.
A similar situation happened when Union Theological Seminary, a New York City seminary of approximately 500 students, ran a successful campaign, said Rogers. In that instance, the school allowed the Company to come to their school to defend themselves. The Company sent six employees, many of whom were high-ranking corporate officers from the Atlanta, Ga. headquarters to attempt to convince the school to reverse its decision. They were unsuccessful, says Rogers.
Kempf and Rogers agree that had Simon's Rock allowed a visit from the Company, a similar event would likely have taken place.
Due to the events surrounding Simon's Rock's campaign, as well as how well the administration responded to the student-run campaign, Rogers says that Simon's Rock, along with Smith College, will be prominently featured in the next edition of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke's newsletter.
Attached to Marcy's email was an email to her from Director of Administration and Finance Jon MacClaren, who oversees all of the school's contracts that allow Coca-Cola products to be sold.
"Over this summer, we will cancel our contracts with suppliers of Coca-Cola products and replace Coke products with more acceptable beverage products," MacClaren said in the email, which also contained a letter from Activist Collective, the student-run group spearheading the campaign to remove Coca-Cola from the campus, detailing the reasons for the decision.
After collecting signatures of over half of the Simon's Rock community in support of the decision to remove Coca-Cola, Activist Collective presented their case at a Community Meeting earlier this semester.
At that meeting, MacClaren charged Community Council with the task of deciding whether or not to stop the sale of Coca-Cola products. The Council decided shortly thereafter to support the Collective's cause, according to a global email from Chair Chris Werter.
"Based on the startling human rights violations of the Coca-Cola company, Council has decided that it is in the best interests of the Simon's Rock community to support the Activist Collective in the removal of Coca-Cola products from our campus," Werter wrote in the email.
Academic Senate similarly voted to support the Collective's cause in a meeting earlier this semster, according to Katharina Kempf, a member of the Collective.
Werter was referring to Coca-Cola's alleged murdering, torturing and kidnapping of union leaders in Colombia and poor treatment of bottling plant employees, among other violations. In addition, the Collective claims that Coca-Cola plants have used vast amounts of water in India, effectively privitizing the water supply.
The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke
In stopping the sale of Coca-Cola products, Simon's Rock joins just over 40 colleges and universities (and more high schools) across the world, according to Ray Rogers, director and founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke. The Campaign helps to inform and assist colleges, universities and high schools who wish to stop the sale of Coca-Cola products at their schools.
"This is a terrific job by the students," Rogers says of Simon's Rock's campaign. Rogers was pleased that Simon's Rock's administration was so supportive of the student-led campaign, in contrast to administrations at many other schools who have attempted such campaigns.
Among the colleges and universities who have run successful campaigns are Rutgers University (one of the largest universities in the country, with about 60,000 students), New York University (the largest private university in the country) and DePaul Univeristy (the largest Catholic university in the country).
Schools closer to Simon's Rock's size have also held successful campaigns, such as the 500-student Union Theological Seminary, according to Rogers.
Local schools have also led successful campaigns, such as Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. Smith College, in nearby Northampton, Mass. announced approximately two weeks ago that it had decided to stop the sale of Coca-Cola products on its campus as well.
When Kempf began the campaign a few months ago, she did not seek help from the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, since she believed they wouldn't want to help a school of Simon's Rock's size with its campaign.
But shortly after Marcy announced Simon's Rock's decision, Jenn Smith, a reporter with The Berkshire Eagle, contacted Rogers while doing research for a story about Simon's Rock's campaign.
Rogers, who was at the University of Minnesota at the time to help them with their campaign, thought Smith wanted to talk with him about Smith College's recently-completed campaign, since he had not heard about Simon's Rock's campaign.
But when Smith told him about the decision, he was estatic. In fact, when speaking at the University of Minnesota during that trip, he announced the news of Simon's Rock's successful campaign to them.
"Simon's Rock is just as much of a leader as any other school," says Rogers, denouncing the myth that a school of Simon's Rock's size is not important to the larger campaign.
By focusing on colleges and universities, Rogers says the Campaign is hitting one of Coca-Cola's main markets.
"Coke likes to have 'brand campuses'," says Rogers. Rogers says that when a student graduates, he will likely bring the Coca-Cola brand into the rest of the world with him, something that the company counts on.
Trying to Retain Contracts
Simon's Rock is not only important to the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, but it is also important to the Coca-Cola Company, as was shown recently when the Simon's Rock Bookstore, managed by Follett Higher Education group, terminated its contract with the company.
By default, all Follett stores carry Coca-Cola products, according to Sara Monsonis, manager of the Simon's Rock Bookstore.
If a school with which Follett has a contract decides it doesn't want a certain product, like Coca-Cola, at its store, the store can make that change.
But when Monsonis called Coca-Cola's regional manager to terminate their contract, in accordance with the change MacClaren requested, the manager wasn't very happy.
"He was very upset. He asked why, and I told him this was a decision by the students, and I had no control over it," says Monsonis. "They made the choice and that was that," Monsonis recalls telling him.
Within days, a regional public relations representative contacted Monsonis, asking if anything could be done. After Monsonis told her the decision was final, the representative asked to allow Coca-Cola to come to the Simon's Rock campus to defend themselves.
Monsonis told the representative that if the students wanted it, they would invite her.
The representative continued her attempts to preserve their contract with the store, even coming on-campus to talk with the Office of Student Affairs. She was unsuccessful in reaching anyone, but left Monsonis some information and requested that she distribute it to students.
In the packet of information, the Company supposedly addresses all of the Campaign's concerns with unions in Colombia and water in India.
"Coca-Cola bottlers enjoy extensive, normal relations with 12 unions in Colombia and currently have collective bargaining agreements in place covering wages, benefits and working conditions," asserts the four-page document.
"The beverage industry is responsible for less than one half of one percent of total water usage in India, making it one of the most efficient users of water in the country. The Coca-Cola Company specifically has reduced our water use ratios in India by 34 percent between 1999 and 2005," it claims in another section.
After discussing the issue, Activist Collective decided that they did not want the public relations representative to come to Simon's Rock as she had requested.
Instead, the representative scheduled a meeting with MacClaren to discuss the issue. However, the Collective has made it clear that the decision will not be reversed.
Though the contracts with Simon's Rock are relatively small, the Company is concerned with the growing Campaign, according to Kempf. Every time another school decided to join the campaign, it grows larger and larger, gaining momentum and giving Coca-Cola a bad reputation.
A similar situation happened when Union Theological Seminary, a New York City seminary of approximately 500 students, ran a successful campaign, said Rogers. In that instance, the school allowed the Company to come to their school to defend themselves. The Company sent six employees, many of whom were high-ranking corporate officers from the Atlanta, Ga. headquarters to attempt to convince the school to reverse its decision. They were unsuccessful, says Rogers.
Kempf and Rogers agree that had Simon's Rock allowed a visit from the Company, a similar event would likely have taken place.
Due to the events surrounding Simon's Rock's campaign, as well as how well the administration responded to the student-run campaign, Rogers says that Simon's Rock, along with Smith College, will be prominently featured in the next edition of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke's newsletter.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 11
Lromfried
Lew Friedman
posted 5/09/07 @ 9:25 AM EST
Congratulations for deciding to terminate your Coke contract! Your decision can help impact the lives of so many in Colombia, India and elsewhere in the world -- people who are hurt by Coke's labor, human rights and environmental abuses. (Continued…)
Brittney
posted 5/09/07 @ 11:11 AM EST
Why doesn't SRC want to hear what Coke has to say? I mean the chances of SRC reversing the decision is basically nill -- but I think it is only fair to hear both sides of an issue. (Continued…)
Ted
posted 5/10/07 @ 7:30 AM EST
This is nothing more than a smear campaign led by a bunch of campus-roving lunatics with nothing better to do. This little newspaper is no better. An objective reporter would have interviewed the Coke rep. (Continued…)
Balloonpopper Chillingsworth
posted 5/17/07 @ 1:26 PM EST
I see no reason to conclude from the petition against Coca-Cola that entering a contract with Pepsi would not be acceptable to the majority of students on campus. (Continued…)
R Butler
posted 6/01/07 @ 10:29 AM EST
Ms. Christ has obviously gotten herself confused in her own mind with her more famous brother, Jesus.
anonomous1234
posted 12/19/07 @ 8:53 PM EST
at the university i go to this campaign has unfortunately failed. this is due to a pro coca cola smear campaign that potraied ray rodgers and his followers as what some people would call terrorists. (Continued…)
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