Totally Coked Out

No Sweat! against big business, not abuses\nBy Tyler Perry, Kirk Nathanson and Edward Delp\nNo Sweat! is at it again!\nIn its continuing effort to prevent IU from having relationships with anything resembling a big business, the group has gone after the University's contract with Coca-Cola.\nThere are a few problems with this.\nFirst of all, after years of allegations of human rights abuses and rulings by numerous courts, the accusations being thrown around by activist groups such as No Sweat! and Killercoke.com have proven to be mostly hearsay. An internal investigation by Coca-Cola, an investigation by the Colombian government and an American lawsuit have all shown a disturbing lack of evidence for the claims being made.\nWe are not asking for a bullet-ridden body, but we are asking for proof.\nSecond, there is a serious amount of money involved.\nAccording to Indiana Daily Student reports, the University makes approximately $1.7 million a year from its contract with Coke. Additionally, canceling the contract early \n-- as No Sweat! seems to want -- might cost the University even more money in early termination fees. In an age of increasing tuition and decreasing support from the state, this is money we cannot afford to lose.\nThird, canceling our contract with Coke would send us down a very slippery slope.\nIt is important to remember that Coke is not the only big business this school has contracts with. Nike, Adidas, Wal-Mart and others all provide support to IU's students in one way or another. \nIf No Sweat! has its way, our basketball team might not have sneakers, our soccer team might not have jerseys, and we might not get our textbooks from reputable publishers. We could be forced to rely on small mom-and-pop suppliers who often have higher prices without a guarantee of higher quality.\nAdditionally, what company would take Coke's place? Pepsi? If No Sweat! takes out Wal-Mart (after protests of Midnight Madness) and Coke, what incentive would Pepsi have to step into this hornet's nest of big-business haters?\nIf the University bends to these labor activists now, it will set a precedent that makes all of its corporate partners a target.\nThe result will cost the University millions, and students will bear the brunt of this lost revenue.\nCost of Coke much more than a dollar\nBy Grace Low and Jonathan P. Rossing\nAllegations of human rights abuse against Coca-Cola are mounting. The company has been accused of ignoring the assassination, kidnapping and torture of union leaders in Columbia, polluting water supplies and destroying eco-systems in India and turning a blind eye to poor working conditions in their non-American factories. The Bloomington chapter of No Sweat! is leading a protest to encourage IU to abandon its contract with Coke. Twelve universities have recently canceled or refused to renew Coke contracts because of these allegations. IU needs to follow suit and take the ethical stance: Human life and dignity are worth infinitely more than money.\nSome argue that we can't be sure these allegations are true. But to ignore firsthand witnesses because their testimonies offer an "inconvenient truth," reeks of cultural racism. Too often do we fall into the trap of dismissing allegations until a corporate white man corroborates the story. If IU chooses to ignore the possibility of human rights abuse, the administration gives the impression that it values money over human life. How sad that our institution so easily devalues the lives of the voiceless destitute around the world for the sake of a financial deposit.\nOthers might claim that other companies -- such as Pepsi -- have the same problems or that those people wouldn't even have a jobs without Coke. These arguments aren't a reason to ignore poor working conditions or children's rights. Rather, they provide stronger motivation to take a stand against a corporate ideology that accepts dehumanization as a necessary side effect of profit. Providing jobs in impoverished countries is great, but we cannot justify employing workers -- especially kids -- under conditions that would be unacceptable in the United States. As long as IU accepts the contributions of such a shady corporation, each of us is complicit with the abuse.\nWe applaud No Sweat! for its effort to pressure the University to abandon the Coca-Cola contract, especially since so many students refuse to get off the couch and stand up for what is right. If more of us agreed to take a moral stand -- no longer condoning abuse through apathy -- the administration would have to listen.