Protests bubble up

FROM A PARKING LOT IN THE wrong place to a booth for military recruiting, the targets of campus protests range from small-scale to broad. How do administrators balance social demands with fiscal interests? The answer, of course, varies--but ongoing protests against the Coca-Cola Company show that loud voices can have leverage.

McMaster University in Toronto may choose to end an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola after students there participated in an October referendum showing disapproval o the deal. The school is not alone: Complaints about Coke have popped up at Rutgers University (N.J.), New York University, Hofstra University (N.Y.), Macalester College (Minn.), and Santa Clara University (Calif.), among other schools.

The protesting groups have criticized Coke for alleged poor environmental practices in India and ties to violent union-busting forces in Colombia (which Coke denies). Some protestors have also simply called for a choice of beverages on campus.

Ray Rogers, an organizer who is not a student but is the director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, which has fueled the campus protests, says 19 IHEs have acted to end their Coke contracts (a number have done so for reasons other than the ethical allegations). The University of Michigan and NYU have urged Coke to bring in a neutral third party to investigate its practices if it wants to continue pouring soda on campus.

Understanding the potential power of protests, Coke has met with people on 50 campuses where students, faculty, or staff have raised concerns, according to spokeswoman Kari Bjorhus. The company also created a website www.cokefacts.org) to re-pond to the accusations. 'It is a very emotional issue for people," says Bjorhus. She says anti-corporate sentiment and incorrect information circulating on the Internet fuel misconceptions. For many schools, the balance seems to lie in listening to all sides. McMaster still has two years and the possibility of an extension on its Coke contract. But once talks come along, various voices will be considered, says Roger Trull, vice president for University Advancement. "Last time we negotiated this contract we had a committee that had broad representation," Trull says. "We would likely undertake a similar process to determine whether there's anything we could do to help McMaster realize some financial gain but at the same time recognize the wishes of the community."

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