2. “Poor U of M fans they are running out of reasons why they lost, can’t accept the fact that Denard is NOT a qb. #MSU“-devalu1981

3. “I usually see a lot of UM apparel while about in metro Detroit on Sundays. Hardly any today. Hmm… #MSU #PaintingTheStateGreen“-SaraAmanda

4. “#MSU wins, and #Redwings win. #Lions tried, and #Tigers blow. Oh well.”

5. Spartans up to 13 in USA Today/Coaches Pollhttp://tinyurl.com/3rr3ny3 #msu #michiganstate

6. “SportsCenter is comparing Wes Welker to Megatron. Welker is good, but Megatron is on a completely different level. #lions“

7. “This girl was cute, then I noticed her michigan hoodie.”

8. “You cant climb a cat to get anywhere”

9. “#MSU 1st class to sweep Michigan… since Freshman couldnt play till 1972 @MikeValenti971”

10. BREAKING: ESPN’s @CollegeGameDay just confirmed they will be coming to East Lansing for MSU’s matchup with Wisconsin next Saturday. #MSU

Students are trying to remove Coca Cola from campus. (Photo credit: Jenna Chabot)

On Dec. 5, 1996, Isidro Gil, a Coca Cola plant worker and a Columbian union leader, was shot and killed inside the entrance of a Coca Cola plant in the city of Carepa by paramilitary forces.  After the shooting, other union leaders were kidnapped and tortured, and the local union building was burned.  Two days later, paramilitary forces returned to the plant to tell workers they had to quit the union by 4 p.m., or they would be killed.  It is said that a Coca Cola manager had prepared resignation forms in advance, and had previously instructed the paramilitaries to destroy the union.  A 2001 lawsuit charged that Coca Cola bottlers in Columbia contracted with and directed the paramilitary forces to act as they did.

For many people, Coca Cola products are associated with good taste and cheery advertising, but others worldwide associate the soft drink giant with murder.  The “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke” is a worldwide movement that aims to hold Coca Cola accountable for its alleged human rights violations.  The campaign has now reached the MSU campus.

According to the “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke” website, Coca Cola has been responsible for numerous human rights and labor violations worldwide.    It is claimed that systematic intimidation, kidnapping, torture and murder are occurring at Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia and elsewhere.    The website also states that Coca Cola has refused independent investigations into the allegations.  Other countries claiming crimes against Coke include Guatemala, China, El Salvador, India, Mexico, Pakistan, The Philippines, and Turkey.

Local Impacts

Along with human rights violations, the MSU Killer Coke Campaign recognizes watershed pollution in Michigan as another reason to end contracts with Coca Cola.  Residents of Paw Paw, Mich. have filed a lawsuit against Coca Cola for groundwater contamination from a Coca Cola bottling plant located near the watershed.  The 80 residents that are part of the lawsuit claim soil contamination has affected their drinking water, daily use of their homes, property taxes and health.

“It is a high quality water body for southwest Michigan,” said Matt Meerson, Van Buren Conservation District watershed coordinator.  “It still has a lot of flood plain forests intact; a lot of wetlands, the water quality in general is good for the Paw Paw. Compared to other rivers in southwest Michigan it is in pretty good shape, which is why people are more committee to protecting it.”

The MSU Campaign

In cafeterias and in Sparty’s convenient stores across campus, Coca Cola products are a common sight.  Drinks such as Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid Lemonade, A&W Rootbeer, and Nestea are just a few of the Coca Cola products that fill various fountain drink machines.  Coca Cola’s time on campus could be limited, however, as the MSU Chapter of Amnesty International leads an initiative to remove Coca Cola from the university.

MSU’s Chapter of Amnesty International has adopted a “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke”, and aims to remove Coca Cola from campus.  The campaign is in response to Coke’s alleged human rights violations in Colombia and other places of the world along with environmental problems that have occurred near bottling facilities worldwide and in Michigan.  The “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke” is a worldwide movement.

Many students take advantage of the availability of the brand that aims to “refresh the world”, but some students like linguistics and philosophy freshman, Adam Liter, refuse to drink such products.  Liter, who hasn’t consumed a Coca Cola product since his sophomore year in high school, has helped lead the campaign at MSU.

Liter, and others involved in Amnesty International have been petitioning on campus since February.  So far, they have approximately 120 signatures.

“Some people are not willing [to sign], but a lot of people were interested and definitely wanted to learn more about it,” Liter said.  “They stuck around long enough to talk to and they definitely seemed concerned, especially when they learned that Coca Cola has been complicit with murder.  It’s not something that people will take lightly.”

The group plans to get at least 5,000 signatures before approaching the administration.

“The administration hasn’t been officially notified,” said Liter.  “I have been in contact with them before a little bit because I was trying to figure out what our contract with Coca Cola is like, so they know that there is at least one person out there that is concerned about it.”

Campus Impacts

“Certainly MSU is a very big client of the Coca Cola Company, because it is such a large university and it has an exclusive contract,” said Ray Rogers, the “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke” director.  “You represent two major things for a company: a source of revenue and the most important place in which they build their brand name identity.”

Coca Cola has an exclusive contract with the cafeterias that lasts until 2016, Liter said.  The contract with Sparty’s is separate.  Liter hopes to persuade the university to break the contract before 2016, or to commit to not renewing it after that time.

“Students are being identified with the Coca Cola Company, and I would suggest that the Coca Cola Company has misrepresented itself to the university when they signed their contract,” Rogers said.  “They ought to be able to break that contract, and if not, what we are hoping is that students will believe in justice and that they will make enough clamor on the campus that students simply won’t purchase the products.”

Those involved in the campaign plan to look into possible alternatives to Coca Cola once they have more signatures on the petition.

“Pepsi would be the easiest alternative, but I mean there is still the concern that soda is actually really bad for you,” Liter said.  “Ideally we would like to propose a different alternative than Pepsi, but Pepsi is a possibility at this point.”

“And why not promote some Michigan alternatives, like Faygo or Blue Sky,” said international relations junior and MSU Amnesty International secretary, Tabitha Skervin.  “There are a lot of local carbonated products I think we could look into as well.”

Other Initiatives

This is not the first time efforts have been made to end contracts with Coca Cola.  MSU Students for Economic Justice tried to persuade the administration to remove Coca Cola from campus in 2006 for similar reasons.  The SEJ held protests and a former Coca Cola bottling plant worker from Colombia came to campus to speak out against unethical practices.

“It was near the end of the school year and many of the students involved were graduating,” said Rogers.  “There were some efforts to educate the university, but now I know there is a whole new effort.”

The campaign was part of the ongoing national “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke” that Amnesty International is partnered with today.

Adam Liter was involved in a similar “Killer Coke” campaign at his alma mater, Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota.

“He had done some good work and some of the students at the high school told me that Adam is now at MSU, so they hooked me up with him,” said Rogers.  “He decided to get things going again, which I was excited about.”

Efforts have also been made at other colleges nationwide, including the University of Michigan.  According to The Michigan Daily, Coca Cola was removed from the university in 2005 while allegations of unethical practices were investigated and was then reinstated months later.

“I have great respect for what the students [at UofM] did,” Rogers said. “But I have no respect for what the administration has done; they set a very bad example as to what morality and ethics are about.”

New York University had similar results.  Administrators “kicked” Coke off of the campus for a short time, but later reinstated their contracts with Coca Cola.

A complete list of colleges, universities and high schools active in the campaign can be found here.

The Future

Liter said he hopes to do a kickoff next semester to raise awareness for the “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke”.  Those involved in the campaign hope to work on it throughout the summer, so it is ready to go come fall.

“The hope is that mid fall semester next year we will reach our goal and try to start the dialogue with the administration,” Liter said.  “We will be doing some petitioning now until the end of the year and then continue to do petitioning next year until we reach our goal.”

It is also important to know that it is not a requirement to give up your favorite Coca Cola product to join the campaign.

“If I stop drinking Coke, that’s just one person,” Skervin said.  “If a school of 47,000 people decided not to drink coke because the administration stops buying it, I think that sends a larger message, and is a more effective boycott.”

The group also hopes to involve other Michigan chapters of Amnesty International in the campaign, as well as environmental groups on campus.  They have also gained support from MSU Students for Fair Trade.

“What you are doing is getting a kickback from the Coca Cola Company for their right to have a captive audience, to have a monopoly, to get all kinds of advertising, and to basically put their brand on the forehead of every student that graduates from the campus,” Rogers said.

“MSU would be so huge if the students are successful in getting Coke kicked out of there,” Rogers said.  “It would just be a huge victory.”

More information about the “Campaign to Stop Killer Coke” can be found on their website.  To get involved with the campaign on campus, contact the MSU Chapter of Amnesty International.

Prussia

Hometown: Detroit

Genre: “Bop” or “Tropical” (according to their Facebook and Myspace)

Why you should check them out: They love Detroit! They constantly do shows at home and go out on tour. Their sound isn’t quite calming, but isn’t quite loud and I don’t know that I would quite call it tropical, but it would definitely fit in on the island scene. Definitely an indie band with their own unique style.

Check them out on Facebook or their website.

Tree Hut Kings

Hometown: Ann Arbor and East Lansing, MI

Genre: Jazz/Funk

Why you should check them out: True to the area, Tree Hut Kings constantly play at the Loft in Lansing. This four piece band packs a lot of punch into their groove-inspired songs, and they love to jam!

Check them out on Facebook or their website.

The Satin Peaches

Hometown: Detroit

Genre: Rock

Why you should check them out: Again, lovers of Detroit. But much different sound than the above band. Influenced by classic rock, Satin Peaches add their own modern sound and give a dedicated, energetic show.

Check them out on Facebook or their website.

Abigail Stauffer

Hometown: Ann Arbor

Genre: Acoustic/Folk

Why you should check her out: She’s fresh out of college and it’s not even for music! Linguistics major at U of M, Abigail writes and records her own musics and constantly performs in Michigan. Inspired Regina Spektor and Sufjan Stevens (another homegrown artists), Abigail has a soft and delicate sound with a lot of emotion.

Check her out on Facebook and her website.

Frontier Ruckus

Hometown: Metro Detroit

Genre: “Minutia-Obsessed Memorialism” according to their Facebook, but I’d say acoustic/folk

Why you should check them out: Up and coming and impressing many, Frontier Ruckus recently played a show at the Loft that many students enjoyed. I hear banjo, I hear keyboard, I hear trumpet and many other instruments in their, as they put it, “existential” sound. Very interesting sound, but not in a bad way.

Check them out on Facebook or their website.

Got any homegrown bands that you love to listen to?? Let us know in the comment section below!

The pressure is much greater for seniors graduating now than in the past when jobs were easier to come by. This leaves seniors to wonder how they will ever get hired and if they will have to relocate to land a job.  The national unemployment rate has reached 9.8 percent, according to the United States Department of Labor, the highest rate in over 20 years. Michigan is far beyond that with a rate of 15.3 percent.

Not only the unemployment rate but rising standards for entry-level jobs make it difficult to get started. Many career fields are requiring that seniors have at least one internship before graduation. For some that internship has become almost impossible to find.

“I thought I had forever to get an internship, but now I’m thinking that it might be too late. I really hope to get a full-time job after graduation, but I’m coming to the realization that I might have to do an unpaid internship first,” said advertising senior Lauren Santucci.

An increasing number of seniors may have to work for free after graduation because the job market has become so competitive that employers only select the applicants with the most experience. Others have to complete an internship as part of their graduation requirements; without an internship there’s no diploma.

“Because the internship was required it was very stressful to interview and find a position. The application process itself was stressful because it had to be completed ahead of time, and it’s unpaid so I’m wondering how I’m even going to live. Now that it’s over I definitely feel a lot better though,” said Hanna Kleiner, a family community services senior.

With so much to worry about, seniors are really feeling the physical effects of stress.

“I’ve had stomach pains before because I’ve been so worried, and I know many of my friends have too,” Stantucci said.

Stress does not have a quick fix or a miracle pill like one would hope.

“College students will be stressed. It’s unavoidable, but to feel less stress you must cope in pro-social positive ways,” said MSU psychology professor Gary Stollak. As a clinical psychologist Stollak advises people on how to cope with stress.

Stollak said daily meditation or prayer is very helpful. It may seem difficult at first, but he said meditation is a skill that improves with practice. Listening to soothing music or tapes also has the same effect. He says it’s all about calming down and being alone with your thoughts, which is actually harder than it sounds.

Having meaningful relationships with intimacy can also help reduce stress. Regardless if it’s a best friend, boyfriend or family member, having a support system helps. When a relationship is intimate it is easy to talk about insecurities and become vulnerable with the other person.

“I definitely feel better after talking things out with my best friends. When I keep things to myself, I only end up worrying about them more and feel worse. We’re all in the same boat, looking for jobs and trying to do well in classes, and it’s exhausting,” said retailing senior Molly Schaffner.

Communicating with those who know you best is a sure way to feel less stressed out.

Stollak also suggested finding an activity that is challenging and requires practice, something that is not a role demanded of you.

“The activity becomes the other side of stress, an energizer. Look forward to something and improve at it,” he said.

Learning and practicing an instrument or a foreign language can become very rewarding over time. Even practicing 15 minutes three times a week is helpful. Learning something new is also a fun opportunity to strengthen a friendship if the activity involves a friend.

A lot of students use drugs to cope with stress. And not just obvious drugs like Adderall and marijuana, but caffeine too.  It’s easy to forget that caffeine is a drug, but the jittery side effects can actually make a person less productive. As a rule of thumb, using any substance to reduce stress isn’t a solution, only a short term distraction.

Watching movies or TV shows are other common distractions from stress. They only provide a short escape from problems, however.

“It’s really about balance,” Stollak said. “The negative side has to be balanced with the positive side. What are you doing from waking up until going to bed?”

The real way to experience less stress is to have small joys or moments of happiness throughout the day. To combat the negative feelings of stress, other parts of the day should be filled with happiness.

“Pay attention to the balance. What is meaningful to you? What’s exciting?” Stollak said.

People say do what you love and you’ll be a happier person, but is worth all the stress?

“I started out double-majoring in fisheries and wildlife and advertising, but I had to drop my fisheries major. It was always my passion but I dropped it because I knew graduating in four years would be too difficult,” Santucci said.

Seniors are changing their plans to survive in the competitive job market. The thought of doing what makes you happy is nice, but it is not always decision seniors make. This fact in itself is reason enough to have seniors stressing about their futures as they find themselves having to drop what they love in order to keep open a realistic career pathway which can lead to a job.

“Advertising was just more practical,” Santucci said. “You can’t exactly follow your dreams when they don’t lead to a job.”