Bookstore to discontinue purchase of vitaminwater
by Shanna Gregory | Llama Ledger Staff
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: News
Although the sale of Coca-Cola was banned from campus last spring, vitaminwater, purchased by Coke in May, is still sold in the student bookstore. Many students are upset that despite the efforts of the Activist Collective, Coke has still maintained a hold on the Simon's Rock campus.
First year student Mindy Isser is especially outraged. "Since we got rid of Coke, we need to get rid of vitaminwater. Just because it's bottled locally doesn't make it any better. I don't support companies with shady business practices."
The Coca-Cola Company announced its intended purchase of vitaminwater's parent company, Glaceau, this summer, only months after Simon's Rock decided to stop selling the company's products.
While students like Isser want vitaminwater out of the store and off campus immediately, bookstore manager Sara Monsonis explained why the bookstore maintains buying the remaining stock of Vitamin Water will not directly support Coca Cola.
Monsonis said that as of Nov. 1, the small distributor that provides for the Simon's Rock store, G. Housen, stopped purchasing vitaminwater. From the time when Coke purchased vitaminwater in May, until Nov. 1 the distribution of the drinks had remained in the hands of the small distributors, such as G. Housen.
The vitaminwater that is in the bookstore currently is pre-Coke takeover of vitaminwater's
previous owner, Glaceau.
Monsonis said the bookstore refuses to restock on vitaminwater, as it would necessitate going through Coca-Cola and that is something Simon's Rock students have elected to be off campus.
Students like first-year Colline Laninga disagree with the premise behind the banning of Coca-Cola products.
"Banning Coke and vitaminwater isn't going to help or do anything; you need to raise awareness in order to make a change," Laninga said.
Last year, Simon's Rock students began petitioning to ban Coca-Cola products from the vending machines, snack bar and bookstore. The evidence against the company for the killing of union workers was enough to convince students to sign the petition and get rid of Coke on the Simon's Rock campus.
When the bookstore's supply of vitaminwater already in the store-room at the Student Union is depleted, Coca-Cola will finally be off campus.
Contact the author: sgregory@llamaledger.com
First year student Mindy Isser is especially outraged. "Since we got rid of Coke, we need to get rid of vitaminwater. Just because it's bottled locally doesn't make it any better. I don't support companies with shady business practices."
The Coca-Cola Company announced its intended purchase of vitaminwater's parent company, Glaceau, this summer, only months after Simon's Rock decided to stop selling the company's products.
While students like Isser want vitaminwater out of the store and off campus immediately, bookstore manager Sara Monsonis explained why the bookstore maintains buying the remaining stock of Vitamin Water will not directly support Coca Cola.
Monsonis said that as of Nov. 1, the small distributor that provides for the Simon's Rock store, G. Housen, stopped purchasing vitaminwater. From the time when Coke purchased vitaminwater in May, until Nov. 1 the distribution of the drinks had remained in the hands of the small distributors, such as G. Housen.
The vitaminwater that is in the bookstore currently is pre-Coke takeover of vitaminwater's
previous owner, Glaceau.
Monsonis said the bookstore refuses to restock on vitaminwater, as it would necessitate going through Coca-Cola and that is something Simon's Rock students have elected to be off campus.
Students like first-year Colline Laninga disagree with the premise behind the banning of Coca-Cola products.
"Banning Coke and vitaminwater isn't going to help or do anything; you need to raise awareness in order to make a change," Laninga said.
Last year, Simon's Rock students began petitioning to ban Coca-Cola products from the vending machines, snack bar and bookstore. The evidence against the company for the killing of union workers was enough to convince students to sign the petition and get rid of Coke on the Simon's Rock campus.
When the bookstore's supply of vitaminwater already in the store-room at the Student Union is depleted, Coca-Cola will finally be off campus.
Contact the author: sgregory@llamaledger.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 37
Miles Pflanz
posted 11/14/07 @ 1:19 PM EST
"Banning Coke and vitaminwater isn't going to help or do anything; you need to raise awareness in order to make a change," Laninga said.
...awareness? so suddenly making people aware that coca cola is complicit in the expropriation of water constitutes a material change in the company's practice? are you serious?
of course banning coke and vitaminwater does something, it deprives money and material from the dominant global regime. (Continued…)
anonymous
posted 11/14/07 @ 5:29 PM EST
But that vitamin water is so good. Why do you activists have to ruin everything?
Nat Thompson
posted 11/14/07 @ 7:14 PM EST
Vitamin water is delicious. Coca-Cola isn't the only company we support that has "shady business practices". Those who don't want coke products can protest by not buying them rather than forcing others. (Continued…)
Rachel Belanger
posted 11/14/07 @ 9:37 PM EST
Thanks, Miles for pointing out the awareness that has been raised here and would like to reiterate that the purpose of the ban WAS to create awareness. (Continued…)
Bennett Garfinkel
posted 11/15/07 @ 10:24 AM EST
To the Activist Collective:
You're forcing your flawed perception of anticapitalist morality on the whole of the campus who does not always agree with your backwards hippy dogma. (Continued…)
mindy
posted 11/15/07 @ 2:43 PM EST
fuck you bennett. if enough students signed a petition to get coke off campus, then i really don't think it was "forcing your flawed perception of anticapitalist morality on the whole of the campus". (Continued…)
bizzy davis
posted 11/16/07 @ 2:25 AM EST
At this point in the argument I would like to bring our focus back to the immediate issues that students on this campus have concerning coca-cola. They are numerous , but for example, the names of the Colombian coca-cola workers who have been killed because of their unionizing efforts appear below in the form of a list: Avelino Achicanoy
Jose Elaseasar MancoDavid
Luis Enrique Giraldo Arango
Luis Enrique Gomez Garado
Isidro Segundo Gil
Jose Librado Herrera Osorio
Oscar Dario Soto Polo
Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez
This is a crude list, one that does not do justice to the lives and deaths of these people, not to mention the hundreds of coke's workers who have been tortured, kidnapped and illegally detained. (Continued…)
T. Grebe
T Grebe
posted 11/17/07 @ 2:23 AM EST
I personally strongly doubt that there is a majority supporting the coke ban so much as an extremely vocal minority. I have yet to meet anyone in person here who supports it and I have met plenty who just think of the movement as bunk. (Continued…)
Josh
posted 12/10/07 @ 7:05 PM EST
Some people are just stupid do you honestly think The Coca-Cola Company hires hit men to take out employees? Every investigation by THE US GOV and Columbian officials all PROVED Coca-Cola had nothing ZERO to do with this, its all fiction. (Continued…)
Joseph Klebanoff
posted 12/14/07 @ 3:16 AM EST
If we are rid of Coke, then why, Oh WHY are there Coke bottles in the vending machine in the Student Union right now? If I am wrong, and they are in fact Oca-Cola products that I was reading incorrectly, please let me know. (Continued…)
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