Letters to the Editor

Coca-Cola Company responds to letter

Dear Mr. Rathod:

Recently, the Scarlet & Black printed some unsettling accusations regarding Coca-Cola and our operations in various regions around the world, including Colombia and India. I am writing to you to set the record straight.

Colombia:

Our Company and bottlers have conducted business in Colombia for 70 years. In Colombia and around the world, Coca-Cola respects the rights of employees to choose third party representation or union membership. Our bottling partners enjoy extensive, normal relations with 12 separate unions in Colombia and currently have collective bargaining agreements in place covering wages, benefits and working conditions for all members of these unions. In a country where violence against union members has deterred all but approximately four percent of the labor force from unionizing, 3 1 percent of Coca-Cola FEMSA’s Colombia employees belong to unions.
Two different inquiries in Colombia—one in a Colombian court and one by the Colombian Attorney General—reviewed allegations of human and labor rights violations involving Coca-Cola’s bottling plants in Colombia, and found no evidence of wrongdoing by our Company or our bottling partners.
A separate independent investigation of claims regarding human rights abuses at Coca-Cola facilities in Colombia also have found no evidence to support them.
The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners are committed to providing Colombian workers, particularly union leaders, as much protection as possible. If any employee feels unsafe, local bottlers, working with local unions and the Colombian government, provide transportation to and from work, loans for secure housing, loans to improve security of union offices, paid cellular phones for emergency use, and shift and job changes.
For the facts regarding our operations in Colombia, I urge you to visit www.cokefacts.org

India:

A number of independent scientific and governmental reports indicate that the Coca-Cola plant in Kerala should not be held responsible for the water shortages in the area.
We require that all of our plants, including those in India, monitor and comply with good environmental practices and applicable law.
For the facts regarding our operations in India, please visit www.coca-colaindia.com

Big companies like ours are accused of a whole host of things because of the publicity it generates for the attackers, regardless of the truth of the allegations. This is a frustrating experience for us and for all people who want to base their decisions on facts.

At Coca-Cola, we have a shared set of values for the way we operate, everywhere in the world. These shared values include respect for individuals and for the communities in which we live.

—Clyde C. Tuggle, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Pulic Affairs & Communications

From the editor: The Coca-Cola Company postmarked this letter Oct. 13. Unfortunately, due to an office oversight, we are just now publishing the letter. We regret this error and apologize to The Coca-Cola Company and our readers.

Victoria’s dirty paper-wasting secret

Dear Editor,

How many catalogs do you get that you didn’t sign up for, don’t want, or that you just recycle? The average American gets 59 catalogs per year. Victoria’s Secret is one of the industry leaders in amount of catalogs printed and also uses no recycled content in their catalogs. The Canadian Boreal forest is being logged so that Victoria’s Secret can send out over one million catalogs daily, many of which are unwanted. Recently about 400 Grinnellians expressed interest in reducing their paper consumption through signing up for the paper campaign. The waste created by Victoria’s Secret is horrendously worse than the waste created by Grinnell College.

We challenge you to tak e action against Victoria’s Secret and help save our forests. Here are a few things you can do. They’re easy.

1. Call and request that you be taken off their mailing list.

2. If you are a Victoria’s Secret shopper, reconsider; or if you feel you must wear their underwear, voice your concerns about their environmental practices at victoriasdirtysecret.net.

3. Take direct action with Free The Planet! on December 2. E-mail [ftp] for info, or stop by our meetings Tuesdays at 9 in the Forum Coffeehouse.

—The FTP! Forest Kids: Eric Husted ‘08, Allison Louthan ‘08, Allison Amphlett ‘08, Caitlin Morley ‘08, Jessica Eaton ‘07, Max Korn ‘07, Jessica Petertil ‘06

Vomit policy is unjust: isn’t that hilarious?

Before I launch into a polemic on College policy, let me first say that I’m not in the least bit indignant. To facilitate a better understanding of the situation, let me offer some background. On 10-10, there were two instances of uncleaned vomit: one in Lazier, and one in Loose Pit. Aside from the obvious lack of “self-governance” on the part of the students, the administration is charging $66.55 for each case of vomit. The problem is, 10-10 did not go to Loose, much less Loose Pit. Why is the Ultimate team getting charged? Apparently, witnesses reported that the vomiter “was at 10-10.” Forget that the witnesses didn’t help a fellow student in need, but they also failed to identify the person. I’ve already know that self-governance is lying in a shallow grave somewhere, but this administration policy in unacceptable.

But like I said, I’m not indignant. In fact, this kind of thing is funny to me. I considered writing a serious letter aimed at prompting student reaction, but given my experience with Grinnell College and the student body, I can already predict the reaction. I call this vomit policy out for the bullshit that it is, a few students might get up in arms for a few days, maybe rant on plans, but nothing changes. With enough distraction and proper medication, everyone will forget all about the gross injustices we live with. So rather than get mad at the lack of change on this campus, I just laugh. Some of you young idealists might turn your noses up at this cynical senior, but believe me, fighting college policy is an exercise in futility. If college has done one thing, it has beaten the idealism out of me and replaced it with jaded laughter. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Let me tell you a funny story about vomit.

As of this semester, the price of vomit is $66.55. If you blow chunks and decide not to clean it up, you (or your floor) will be charged that amount. Maybe it’s just me, but this seems like a lot of money; if I could make that kind of dough cleaning barf, I never would have gone to college. Where did this magic number come from? How much is it if I drop a deuce in the drinking fountain? What about peeing in the garbage? I know what you’re thinking: charging students an arbitrary amount of money for their irresponsibility is contrary to the philosophy of self-governance—and really funny! But it gets better. The $66.55 doesn’t even go to the worker who cleans up the vomit! The money goes to—get this—the college’s “general fund!” FM workers get the same pay for that day, no matter how much puke they mop up! Not only is the vomit policy a childish deterrent, but it also does nothing to recompense the labor of FM workers, who already have to put up with so much of our bullshit! Hilarious!

So where has this policy gotten us? I puke wherever I want, somebody else cleans up my mess, the college gets more money, and my dad doesn’t get his damage deposit back. I can just turn my back and pretend it never happened. I don’t have to look FM workers in the eye, right? My dad paid for it, so that makes everything better, right? That’s justice, right?

Or I could just puke in the out of doors, like God intended.

I would write more, but this is all so hilarious I am going to vomit. Oh, the irony is killing me!

—Ben Hanes ‘05 and Ned Brasington ‘05

Haircutter overlooked

Dear Editors,

Considering that Dave Paulson did the hair design for a student-run fashion show in Herrick Chapel two years ago, it is a shame that your reporters did not visit his salon when writing your article on local haircutters. One would hope that those who give their time to contribute to student life and student activities would be paid an equal courtesy by the student newspaper. In any case, I highly recommend Dave Paulson Hair Design to the entire campus community.

—David Harrison, French