Beverages are under attack at MSU these days.
East Lansing police don't want us consuming alcoholic beverages in the midst of beer pong, and Students for Economic Justice, or SEJ, don't want us to drink Coca-Cola products.
SEJ had a "taste test" of sorts in front of the rock on Farm Lane on Monday, promoting alternative pop choices that are Michigan made, such as Faygo and Vernors.
It was a creative approach to bringing to light an issue that some MSU students, faculty and staff might not have heard about yet.
The possible Coca-Cola scandal is worth looking into.
The soda giant is facing worker and environmental abuse allegations in Colombia and India made by the University of Michigan, New York University and at least 10 other U.S. schools.
"Allegation" is the key word, though — nothing conclusive has been brought to the legal table yet.
However, U-M went ahead and canceled its 13 contracts, worth $1.4 million annually, on Jan.1 because Coke missed a deadline set by the university to bring in a third-party investigation.
Coca-Cola said they missed the deadline, which was set for Dec. 31, because of legal complications.
If missing the deadline was suspect enough for U-M to join other schools in canceling contracts, then maybe it is suspect enough for MSU to at least keep a careful watch on the issue.
Certainly Coca-Cola is a big contributor here. Most, if not all, cafeterias on campus have Coke fountain machines and all Sparty's Convenience Stores sell Coke products. An abolishment from the school could be a costly thing to do, so nothing drastic should be done in haste, but a dose of healthy questioning always is a good thing.
If it turns out these allegations are true, then we should switch.
As a public university, putting people above corporations should be an unspoken obligation.
Plus there are plenty of other soft drink companies to administer to our pop needs.
They might not be the drink of choice by Santa Claus and animated polar bears, but there is a good chance they will offer just as much sugar (or artificial sweeteners if you roll that way), caffeine and teeth-rotting goodness that we've grown to love.
