OP/ED
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 5A
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Send all letters to the editor to
tothedaily@nmichigandaily.com.
VIEWPOINT
Coke restored behind students' backs
Name change does not
make up for racist past
TO THE DAILY:
I find it absurd that the University would
consider recognizing Michigamua as an offi-
cial student group (Michigamua commits to
reforms, 04/12/2006). Any group that has a
history of mocking my people and culture,
such as this group, does not have a place in
the University. Racism is racism, no matter
what the name. I also find it absurd that the
members of Michigamua would willingly
make their names public. I guess it is good
for all of us to know the names of racists on
campus.
Wyaudtnoong Adams
LSA junior
Eicke's column 'shows the
true definition of frankness'
To THE DAILY:
David R. Eicke's The old man and the V
(04/12/2006) was the best thing I've read in
The Michigan Daily for a while. One reason
why struck me hardest. It may be the obvi-
ous aspect of the article (being that I am a
female), but I have yet to recover from its
effect, nonetheless. The record Eicke has
created of the separation between Ameri-
can society's image of "man" and his own
self shows the true definition of frankness.
This quality is rare. I can attest, as a single
gal, that this is especially rare among the
college dudes I roam campus with. To dis-
tinguish oneself from what many men have
spent and will spend their entire lives seek-
ing to be a part of shows maturity, hones-
ty, strength and balls. Eicke's friend has it
wrong - he is the one lacking a pair. Eicke
just spread the black and white version of
his all over the Daily.
Katie Miller
LSA first-year
'U' decision on Coca-Cola
goes against free market
To THE DAILY:
The decision to reinstate the Coca-Cola
contract with the University is anti-free market
on a number of fronts, but I will only address
the philosophical, not the procedural.
Coke is a corporation with the bottom line
as its only guiding principle. The University is
a more pluralistic institution that has a wider
range of interests, and it has a code of conduct
it expects business partners to follow. The
University takes into account fiscal, human,
social and natural capital when it looks for
business partners. When the University is
talking about a free market, it means a mar-
ketplace of ideas, too.
If Coke doubled its prices tomorrow, we
would drop its contract in a second and move
over to another vendor, and no one would
complain. That's the nature of free markets.
In that vein, the University administration
needs to listen to students and tell Coke it
is too far in the red when it comes to social
and natural capital to do business with.
Coke doesn't think about those forms of
capital, but the University does, and there
is nothing wrong with the University act-
ing in its own self-interest. We don't need
to wait for Coke to prove itself a worthy
partner even it as it continues to perpetrate
environmental and social crimes in coun-
tries not even currently part of agreed-to
investigations.
Instead, the University should move to
a vendor that has a more holistic portfolio
of assets to share with our globally recog-
nized University, and let Coke sort out its
charts. When Coke is ready and is in the
black socially and environmentally, maybe
the University can work with it again - and
at lower costs.
There is no innocent-until-proven-guilty
in the marketplace, and Coke should be
treated like any bad business partner -
dropped until it looks more lucrative for
our University fiscally, socially and envi-
ronmentally.
Zack Denfeld
School of Art & Design
The letter writer is a
former Daily columnist.
Coke Coalition 'needs to
just grow up or get out'
To THE DAILY:
The Coalition to Cut Contracts with Coca-
Cola needs to just grow up or get out (Coke to
return to campus, 04/12/2006).
Its demand for the investigation of alle-
gations against vendors has been met with
more than the bare minimum, from what
has been reported on the Vendor Code of
Conduct. Two respected third-party organi-
zations have been brought in to figure out if
the allegations are true, but apparently this
is not enough.
The Coke Coalition's members are
obviously so self-absorbed and egotistical
that they believe their organization should
have put some type of seal of approval on
the deal.
This hypocritical group was absolutely
pleased when the University cut Coke
during semester break, thus leaving out
students, but when the administration left
Coke activists out of "their" business, they
get all upset. The Coalition has done what
it set out to do, and now it is time to grow
up and let the proper people deal with it
- or get out.
Matthew Lewis
LSA sophomore
Freedom and equality for
American citizens, not
illegal immigrants
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing in response to the front-
page article, On Diag and across nation,
immigration laws protested (04/11/2006)
and in particular the source cited, Julia
Malette.
Malette claims that "no human is
illegal." This will lead to open borders
between the United States and Mexico
and will become an open invitation for the
disruption of our security and for more
acts of terrorism on American soil. It is a
shame to see that she is willing to let ille-
gal immigrants be equated to American
citizens ("they deserve to have rights as
much as the next person") while millions
of American citizens have fought and died
- and thousands more are currently fight-
ing and dying - to keep her freedom.
A strong border policy not only ensures
greater American security; it also grants
greater and fairer economic, social and
political opportunity to legal immigrants.
Malette called such legislation inhumane
and basically equated anyone who sup-
ports strict border regulation to a racist.
My patriotism and trust in America has
led me to support a strict border policy,
not some convoluted "inhumane" ideol-
ogy against illegal immigrants.
To fix the problem at its root, people
must not become so enamored with wide-
spread calls for freedom and equality
of illegal immigrants. Rather they must
remember that our Constitution provides
legal American citizens with "liberty and
justice for all."
Bryan Harrison
LSA junior
Letters Policy
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ters to the Daily. Letters should include the
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Letters should be no longer than 300
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Letters will be run according to timeli-
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@umich.edu.
BY ADRI MILLER, LINDSEY ROGERS
AND JASON BATES
The University's decision to immediately rein-
state the Coca-Cola contracts is nothing short of an
affront to democracy,justice and accountability. Not
only was the decision made without the consent of
students as required by the Dispute Review Board
recommendation, but by making this decision with
a complete lack of transparency, the administra-
tion violated its own established due process.
The homepage of our University states, "Give
It, Get It, Expect Respect." Yet the University
administration went out of its way to disrespect
students, workers and community members when
it engaged in a secretive closed-door process to
bring Coca-Cola back to campus. It deliberately
refused to consult with students and blatantly dis-
regarded the DRB process to which it agreed to
abide. In fact, the DRB recommendation explicit-
ly stipulates that any investigation must be accept-
able to all parties - specifically students.
University President Mary Sue Coleman has
said: "It is everyone's responsibility to create a
welcoming community." With this move, the
administration has shattered any notion of a wel-
coming or inclusive community that values stu-
dent opinion. It is now clearer than ever that the
University administration is accountable to cor-
porate money - not to its obligations to respect
human rights, worker rights or the student body.
On Monday, April 10, the Coca-Cola Com-
pany announced in a letter to the University that
the International Labor Organization, a United
Nations agency, agreed to conduct an investigation
and evaluation of Coca-Cola bottling operations in
Colombia. The letter also stated that the Coca-Cola
Company was in "active dialogue" with TERI, an
Indian corporate responsibility organization. In
return, the administration reinstated the contracts
in less than 24 hours. This action is unacceptable.
Coca-Cola has had to do nothing to get this
contract back, aside from calling its friends at the
International Labor Organization to create the
fagade of an independent investigation. Ed Potter,
Coke's director of global labor relations and author
of the full-page ads placed (at great expense) in
The Michigan Daily, is a longtime employer-rep-
resentative to the ILO. He has worked for the ILO
for decades. This personal and financial relation-
ship alone completely erases any possibility for a
truly independent investigation on the part of the
ILO. Even if the investigation uncovers Coke's
true crimes, bringing back Coke's contract before
an investigation is even formulated provides Coke
with absolutely no incentive to take any corrective
action. The administration has been made aware
of the conflict of interest between Ed Potter and
the ILO.
The members of the Coalition to Cut Contracts
with Coca-Cola have engaged constructively with
the administration on this issue for over a year.
In our most recent meeting on March 31, students
were assured that: I.) No action would be taken
regarding the Coca-Cola Company without first
consulting with students, in accordance with the
Dispute Review Board recommendation; 2.) The
administration would outline in writing the pro-
cedure by which Coca-Cola would be eligible
for renewing its contract with the University; 3.)
That the University would not renew the contract
unless plans were formulated and implemented
for investigations into both Colombia and India.
No such plans exist. "Active dialogue" does
not constitute a meaningful commitment to a
comprehensive, independent investigation or by
any stretch of the imagination meet the require-
ments set by the University's own Dispute Review
Board.
As students, we trusted the administration to
engage with us in good faith and keep us informed
and involved in the process. We furthermore
expected the University to uphold its own rules
and regulations. We were repeatedly assured by
top administration officials that student concerns
were taken seriously. It is appalling that the Uni-
versity would now choose to be completely unac-
countable and go behind students' backs while
they are studying for exams. The University fur-
thermore is disregarding the recommendation
of the DRB, which is composed of highly quali-
fied students and faculty who spent innumerable
hours establishing a process for remediation.
President Coleman, Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer Tim Slottow, Assistant Vice
President for Finance Peggy Norgren and Deputy
General Counsel Dan Sharphorn should be ashamed
of their actions in this matter. The Coke Coalition
shall not rest until Coca-Cola demonstrates full
compliance with the Vendor Code of Conduct and
the University upholds its own standards of due
process, ethical purchasing and a commitment to
accountability, democracy and social justice.
Miller is an RC sophomore, Rogers is an
LSA sophomore and Bates is an RC sophomore.
They are writing on behalfof the Coalition to
Cut Contracts with Coca-Cola
Viewpoint Policy
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Editors will run viewpoints according to
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Viewpoints should be no longer than 700
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Send viewpoint submissions to editpage.
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&4 .
Twenty-one U-M students are vying to be named Michigan Apprentices and will
experience one-day shadowing opportunities with these high-profile alumni:
David Brandon, '74, CEO, Domino's Pizza Inc.
Randy and Jason Sklar, '94, comedians, hosts of ESPN Classic's "Cheap Seats"
Joe Schwarz, '59, HLLD'03, member of United States House of Representatives,
representing 7th district of Michigan
Aaron Dworkin, '97, MMUS'98, founder and president of Sphinx Organization
for minorities in the classical arts
Harvey Briggs, '82, executive vice president and director of innovation for
Lindsay, Stone & Briggs
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