Aquinas College--a 2,300 student body Catholic college located in Grand Rapids--has become the 26th college in the United States to terminate a contract with Coca-Cola in response to Coca-Cola's human rights abuses. In recent years, Coca-Cola has come under intense scrutiny from human rights activists for its indifference to the murder, torture, and kidnapping of workers at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia. The "Killer Coke" campaign has motivated significant student and union organizing around the world.
A recent newsletter distributed by the "Killer Coke" campaign contains the following report from Claire O'Neill of Aquinas College's Social Action Committee:
"I just wanted to say that after a two and a half year fight, the students at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, have successfully kicked Coke off our campus. Unfortunately, the replacement is another big corporation, Pepsi, but it has been decades since anything but Coke has graced our campus.
Part of our campaign to Kick Out Coke was putting "Out of Order" signs on Coke machines around campus, as well as to distribute fliers with information and pictures of the atrocities that the company perpetrates in countries such as Colombia and India.
We also tabled in our cafeteria and in the hallways of the campus, handing out leaflets and literature, and collecting signatures on postcards to send to Coke executives.
Members of our club met twice with the man in charge of finance of the school, who had the responsibility of choosing contracts. Five members of the Social Action Committee met with him and he was ultimately willing to listen to our requests.
The coordinator of the club worked on a committee of staff and students formed to choose the beverage contract for upcoming years. The coordinator was very vocal about why to oppose a renewed contract with Coke because of the Company's human rights abuses in Colombia.
The school administration sent out an email survey to the students asking what drinks they preferred -- interestingly enough, the students did not choose Coke. The administration informed the coordinator right before the end of the year that Aquinas College would not renew the contract with Coke. The students at the school were very pleased."
Other schools in Michigan including Michigan State University, University of Detroit Mercy, and University of Michigan, and Wayne State University are among dozens of schools actively organizing to remove Coke from their campuses.
