Students lead protest of Coca-Cola

By: KRISTEN COULTER

Posted: 11/28/07

A group of University students are protesting Coca-Cola this week.

Members of the Rhetoric of Social Movement class are protesting against Coke because of allegations about the company's business practices.

Kirsten Lee, a senior and member of the class, said the class was divided into groups and instructed to "participate in or activate a social movement."

"We wanted something that would be controversial," Lee said. "This is really interesting because Coke is so supported on our campus."

The group planned one protest activity for each day. On Monday and Tuesday, they put up fliers and posters. Today, they plan to unplug or put out of order signs on campus vending machines. On Thursday, they will host an information session and debate in the SLC.

Mike Ward, manager of vending and solicitation for Vending Services, said Coke machines on campus generate about $1.6 to $1.8 million annually. He said the University receives a commission of $600,000.

These students in the class are not alone in their Coke protest.

According to www.killercoke.org, a Web site that protests Coca-Cola, groups from about 190 colleges and universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy are protesting Coke. Some of the universities in the United States are Emory University, New York University and the College of Charleston.

The group and killercoke.org accuse Coke of destroying the potable drinking water in Mexico, creating water shortages in India and hiring a militia to murder nine union members.

Kirsten Witt, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, disputed these claims in a telephone interview Tuesday.

"Killer Coke is a Web site managed by a group of professional activists and is full of myths and rumors that have been proven false," Witt said.

Witt said Coca-Cola follows laws in the countries where they bottle products.

In response to the allegations in Columbia, Witt said the claims have been investigated by Columbian and United States' courts and were dropped.

Witt sent The Red & Black the U.S. District Court documents on the case.

In the case dismissal, Judge Martinez wrote, "There is an utter absence of specific allegations connecting the murder of Gil or the kidnapping of Cardona to the conspiracy."

Witt said Coke "would like to talk to the students and give them the facts."

She directed anyone interested to a Web site run by Coca-Cola, www.cokefacts.com.