In a rare burst of radicalism, UCD students voted to ban Coca-Cola products. Are these rebels in need of a greater cause? Shane Hegarty reports
The vending machines in UCD were doing a good trade in Coca-Cola this week, even after Wednesday's referendum in which students voted to ban the drink from Student Union shops. The "Vote Yes" posters, asking students to ban Coke products, were already covered over, largely by bills for an event called the Playtoy Pyjama Party ("Bring Pillows!"). The "Vote No" posters, appealing for freedom of choice, were almost entirely absent.
In the Students' Centre, Coca-Cola and its sister products, such as Lilt, Sprite and Fanta, will continue to be sold at the Students' Union-run shop until the fridges run empty.
After that, it will become a Coke-free zone even while two cafés and a neighbouring vending machine continue to sell it.
"Even the people campaigning for a ban were telling us that we'd still be able to buy Coke on campus," says first year Business and Legal Studies (BBLS) student Birgit Brummer. While her boyfriend drinks a Diet Coke, she explains that she voted for prohibition "because it doesn't affect anyone and it's for a good cause."
The question centred on whether Coca-Cola allowed its bottling plants in Colombia to wage a sustained murder campaign against trade unionists. Two years ago, Colombian food and drink union Sinaltrainal sued the beverage giant and its local bottling partners in a US federal court in Miami, claiming that it is indirectly responsible for nine deaths in 13 years.
Coca-Cola describes the allegations as "completely false". In March, the judge removed the company from the suit, but this week's student referendum was the latest action in a boycott of Coca-Cola launched by trade unions around the world in July.
Ironically, SIPTU campaigned against the ban, claiming that it would affect jobs at Irish bottling plants.
The UCD vote was carried by only 59 votes, with a turnout of 3,200 from 17,000 potential voters. The No campaign had been expected to win out, but some observers report that they stopped canvassing at 6p.m. even though ballots didn't close until 10p.m. It left the Yes campaign with four crucial hours in which to persuade the evening students to vote their way.
Drinking a can of Coke, David Whelan, another first year BBLS student, says he voted to keep the drink. "They can still sell it all over campus anyway and it'll only mean a loss of money to the union. Besides, I don't think Coca-Cola wanted its workers killed." He doesn't think this sort of debate does the Students Union any favours.
"If they're more concerned with a referendum on Coke than important issues, it's going to be hard to be taken seriously next time they need to negotiate with the government."
His classmate Jason Quinn (drinking Lilt) didn't vote. He admits that he should take a more general interest in politics. "I didn't get involved in the anti-war protests, because I was worried that if I signed any petitions they would get to the US embassy and I wouldn't be able to get a J1 visa. We were warned by school teachers to think twice about it."
The Coca-Cola referendum came in a week when students greeted Mary Harney's visit to the college by protesting against any possible reintroduction of college fees. In Limerick, 1,000 people demonstrated over the increase in college registration fees that has hit students across the country.
Following last year's major campaign against fees, it might suggest that modern students have rediscovered their radical ways.
However, Samantha Libreri, editor of UCD newspaper The University Observer, suggests that appearances can be deceptive.
"This is my fourth year at university and in that time the only protest has been in relation to the reintroduction of fees. Until last year's Campaign for Free Education, there was nothing. It is very difficult to mobilise students on a larger scale for most issues."
Even this week's campus demonstration in UCD attracted only 50 students, suggesting that students are contented now that the government has dropped the idea.
"Most of the current Student Union officers were voted in on the back of the fees issue," explains Libreri. "It's like campaigning on health issues and then having the health service fixed in one day."
There are some within UCD who believe that a dearth of local campaigns meant that the students were forced to find a global one. Until recently students could focus on the issues of contraception, gay rights, abortion information and fees. With those battles fought and progress made there is less to be radical about.
"Most students now go through college with few problems," admits University of Limerick communications and campaigns officer Sarah Ryan. "The more active students of 10 or 20 years ago sorted most of the student issues. Many of the social issues are resolved. It is only when something comes along that directly affects the money in their pockets that they focus."
Ryan says that raised awareness of the boycott may lead to a similar referendum in UL over the next year.
However, in other universities contacted, there are currently no plans for a vote. According to a spokesperson for UCC Students' Union, "we have other issues that are more pressing" .
Meanwhile, in UCD the No campaign is already believed to be collecting signatures in the hope of calling a second referendum and overturning the ban. Coca-Cola Ireland has called for a second ballott.
"We are very concerned about the outcome of the vote given that it is based on serious allegations that several third parties have said are not true," said a spokesperson. "It was a decision that was taken by a minority of students but as a result could have direct effects on local business."
If the result is not overturned, Coke may be absent for years to come. In a previous referendum UCD students voted for a "temporary" ban on Nestlé products and almost ten years later the shelves remain empty of KitKats and Yorkies.