WWW.GUILFOFUDlAN.COM
NEWS
GMfMH Mms H tun CNa-Cola,Slailiiicks.aMl Naso*
\
"Pepsi is just os bad as Coke when it comes to human rights
abuses and pollution in foreign countries, so I don't think it's the
lesser of two evils. It still goes against our Quaker principles and
ethical procurement policies."
By Eric Ginsburg
Staff Writer
After numerous student initiatives and
three open forums, the college has announced
its plan to switch the school's soda, juice, and
coffee suppliers beginning Jan. 1.
Currently, Guilford holds an exclusive
contract with Coca-Cola for all soda and juice
products on campus, with the exception of
products in the school bookstore. As of now.
Nestle provides the coffee in the dining hall
and Starbucks in Grill 155.
The college plans to switch to Pepsi-Cola,
which will buy out Coke's exclusive contract
for soda and juice, and Green Mountain,
which will provide fair trade, organic, shade-
grown coffee in the dining hall and the Grill
155.
According to a public statement by the
college placed in the Guilford Beacon on
Nov. 16, the school began considering
alternative beverage suppliers after the
Sodexho Independent Study Group brought
up concerns in a presentation last April on
Coca-Cola, Sodexho, and Starbucks.
Coca-Cola has been widely criticized
for their alleged involvement with the
assassinations of over half a dozen union
leaders who worked at Coke's bottling plants
in Colombia. Since 1990, Coke continues to
deny any coimection to the eight murders.
In addition, the Coca-Cola Company is one
of the three largest water privatizing entities
in the world, restricting access to water and
allegedly poisoning local water supplies
around their plants in India.
During the first open beverage forum,
which was the most highly attended, students
rejected the notion of switching to Pepsi
because of its similar corporate background.
Pepsi-Cola is also one of the three largest
water privatizers worldwide.
Referring to a recent conflict in the
Indian state of Kerala, ecologist and scholar
Vandana Shiva explained in her book "Earth
Democracy," "The local movement of
women in Plachimada triggered recognition
of people's community rights to water in law,
while also triggering movements against the
87 other Coca-Cola and Pepsi plants where
water is being depleted and polluted."
However, after student research into
alternatives. Dean for Campus Life Aaron
Fetrow contacted a number of smaller,
seemingly more ethical companies by e-mail
to see if they were viable alternatives to Pepsi
or Coca-Cola.
Only Pepsi and Coke responded to
the questions, which were generated in
the second forum, but a number of other
companies reported never receiving the
e-mail. Students contacted some of the
companies by phone and requested they
call Fetrow to express interest in the
contract. Though company representatives
told students they were interested, Fetrow
maintained that none followed through and
called the college.
"If anything, this lack of response worried
me as it would relate to how the company
would respond to service calls and needs we
may have on campus if they were the next
beverage provider," Fetrow explained.
Citing the lack of alternatives, a better
match for "social responsibility and
environmental sustainability," service, and
the fact that Pepsi is based in North Carolina,
Olivia Bailey, freshman
Guilford College announced their plan to
switch to Pepsi-Cola.
"Pepsi is just as bad as Coke when it comes
to human rights abuses and pollution in
foreign countries, so I don't think it's the lesser
of two evils," said first-year Olivia Bailey. "It
still goes against our Quaker principles and
ethical procurement policies,"
Once the school contacted Sodexho
regarding student concern over coffee,
Sodexho offered to switch to Green Mountain,
a company they already do business with
elsewhere. In addition to being fair trade and
organic, Guilford's new coffee will be shade
grown, which means that ecosystems have
not been destroyed by clear-cutting forest to
create coffee fields.
Starbucks was specifically mentioned
during the Sodexho Student Research group
presentation last April to administrators
for their lack of fair trade products and
questionable treatment of workers attempting
to organize with the Industrial Workers of
the World in New York City, Chicago, and
Maryland. Nestle is the third of the top three
water privatizers internationally and their
coffee is not fair trade. Over the years, they
have been repeatedly accused of using forced
labor for the production of their chocolate.
Many students see Green Mountain as more
in line with the college's stated values and a
significant improvement over Starbucks and
Nestle.
"Kicking out major corporations with a
strong history of human rights violations,
such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Starbucks,
is an important step towards a more ethical
campus," said Shaina Machlus, who has
been involved in the process. "Because
colleges and universities are essentially
major businesses within themselves, it is of
the utmost importance the whole community
monitors where our money is being spent."
It is unclear whether the bookstore,
currently managed by Follett, will make the
switch from Coca-Cola and Starbucks as
well, though Vice President for Finance and
Administration Jerry Boothby submitted a
written request to Follett last week asking
that they do so immediately. If Follett does so,
the campus-wide switch will be complete.
"When Guilford purchases from a
corporation it is investing not only in the
corporation but all of its practices as well,"
Machlus said. "I hope this is only the
beginning of continue student input and
dedication to ensure more ethical purchasing
for Guilford."
Midge Potts: “Transcending traditional politics”
Transgendered social activist
speaks of her experience in
American politics
By Efysa Polovin
Staff Writer
"My mom told me when I was a
little kid that I could do anything
I wanted with my life and I really
took it seriously," said Midge Potts
to a small gathering of Guilford
students in Bryan Jr. auditorium.
"I took her seriously when I
decided to become a woman, and I
took her seriously when I decided
to run for Congress."
Potts came to Guilford on Nov.
15, brought by GPeace, Guilford's
peace oriented club.
She is a 37-year-old transgender
social justice activist who ran
for Congress in southwestern
Missouri's Aug. 8 Republican
primary.
Potts is a Persian Gulf War
veteran and served on the USS
Yosemite as Mitch Potts, a male.
After being injured by
evaporated mercury in an engine
room aboard the ship, Potts was
offered an honorable discharge and
became more active in politics.
"This political system is such a
huge joke that I thought I ought to
put the exclamation point on it,"
said Potts on her Myspace page. "I
am tired of hearing everybody say
'there's nothing we can do.'"
She based her campaign on
three goals: to create a balanced
budget, to set term limits in the
Constitution, and to enforce direct
democracy.
Potts ran a creative campaign,
connecting with people through
recycled signs and folk music.
"I am not limited by
preconceived notions of what the
media says I should do to run a
campaign," Potts said. Although
Potts lost the election, she doesn't
view it as a defeat.
"I could win, just by running for
office, by raising the vibrations in
the area I was running in," Potts
said.
Potts now continues to spread
her message in every way possible.
Traveling around the country and
talking to schools is just one of
them.
"It is important (to hear what
Potts has to say) because we are
a school based on Quaker values.
with a large interest in peace and
diversity," said sophomore Emily
Warren, vice president of GPeace.
Potts has also learned to send
her messages in creative ways. She
has become an infamous "woman
in pink," known to pop up behind
politicians, posting her opinions
on the newscaster's screen.
From a sign reading "I have
nothing to hide ... except the
truth," behind Alberto Gonzales,
former U.S. Attorney General, to
"Impeach Bush" behind Valerie
Plame, former CIA undercover
operative, she has successfully
made her voice heard while
remaining completely silent.
It would be wrong to say,
however, that Potts always keeps
quiet.
She was arrested for interrupting
the U.S. Senate chamber with her
opinion on the Iraq war and then
stating "I yield the remainder of
my time back to the committee."
She was found guilty by a jury yet
doesn't seem to regret speaking
her mind.
"If we have something to say to
the government, then we should be
able to," Potts said. "If this really
is a government of the people,
then people shouldn't be afraid to
be autonomous."
Potts continues to fight for
her cause and plans to run for
Congress again in 2008 as a Green
Party representative.
She also has a Sundance film
coming out entitled "Citizen
Potts."
One of her main goals, however,
is to get youth more involved
in politics, which is one of the
reasons she's speaking on college
campuses.
"I was hoping her passion could
spark some interest on Guilford's
campus (and) maybe eliminate
some apathy," said sophomore
Airlie Parham, president of GPeace,
who met Potts last summer in
Washington D.C.
"The biggest thing young people
can do is talk to each other," Potts
said. "Your whole future depends
on the decisions these guys are
making now."
Potts spoke about the
beginning of American politics
and the formation of the U.S.
Constitution.
She quoted Thomas Jefferson
and discussed how his words are
still relevant today in that our
government isn't really "of the
people."
"No society can make a
perpetual constitution or even a
perpetual law," said Jefferson in
a letter written to James Madison
over 200 years ago. "The earth
belongs always to the living
generation."
Midge Potts
"The biggest thing young people can do is talk to each other.
Your whole future depends on the decisions these guys are
making now."