Bravo to the Minnesota Student Association for urging the University administration to look into the international business practices of Coca-Cola Co.

Bravo to senate member Kris Houlton at the University Senate for pushing for a vendor code of conduct.

It’s about time the University starts seriously reconsidering its relationship with Coca-Cola. True, Coca-Cola provides this University with some revenue stream, but we must question if we as a University are willing to sacrifice our principles for short-term gains.

Coca-Cola’s role in stealing water from villages in the Kerala region of India is well-documented. The murders of union leaders in Coca-Cola’s Colombian bottling plants also cannot be denied. The University of Michigan and New York University have declared that they will not support a corporation that is willing to go to such extremes in the pursuit of profit. It’s time the University does the same if the Coca-Cola Company is not willing to submit to an independent investigation of these events.

For more information on Coke’s union abuses visit Killercoke.org. Tell University President Bob Bruininks and your student-government that you won’t buy another Coca-Cola product, including Odwalla juice, Powerade and other refreshments sold by the University, until an independent investigation is conducted into Coca-Cola’s business practices.

Think twice before downing that bottle of Coke. The red of its label is more than an American icon, it’s a reminder of Coca-Cola’s greed and the lives that have suffered and the blood that has been lost because of it.