Cola contracts on Canadian campuses examined

York University Graduate Student Association refuses corporation’s money, UBC has two years of un-rewarded exclusivity to complete

Michael Sitayeb, Excalibur (York University)

TORONTO (CUP) — The so-called “cola dilemma” has returned to York University as student groups – spurred by what is taking place on other Canadian campuses with similar exclusivity contracts – have begun to again question the wisdom of dealing with Cola companies.

Seven years after York signed its deal with Pepsi, student clubs are concerned about the effects of the soft drink company’s presence on campus. They say drinks, exclusively available from the Pepsi family, are overpriced, free water fountains are being replaced by vending machines for “thirst quenchers” and a healthier drink selection is simply unavailable.

And they’re not alone in Canada.

Earlier this year, the University of British Columbia finished its decade-long exclusivity contract with Coca-Cola, or so they thought.

The university was the first in Canada to hop on the soft drink corporation bandwagon, signing on to buy 33.6 million cans of Coke over a 10-year period.

The payoff was $8.5 million to spend for disability access, student services and the campus library – all provided by Coca-Cola.

When January 2005 arrived, the university had not yet met its quota of Coke can sales. As a result, UBC will have to continue distributing Coke family products on its campus for another two years without any further compensation from Coca-Cola.

While UBC is one of the few Canadian universities to sign on to a quota-based deal, soft drink exclusivity contracts abound across Canadian campuses like the University of Toronto and McMaster University.

“Part of the trend across university campuses is to increase corporate partnerships, unfortunately that’s part of the funding reality that we find ourselves in,” said Ahmed Habib, York Federation of Students vice-president (equity and services).

In 1998, amid deep government budget cuts for post-secondary funding, York entered a similar deal after university student groups expressed their need for funds and developed criteria for a corporate deal to provide that funding.

Pepsi offered to pay $7.5 million over 10 years to fund student organizations at York and provide stadium upgrades.

“Pepsi got a sweet deal,” said Habib. “They’ve got a tremendous opportunity to market their product and maintain a monopoly,” he added.

After initially cooperating with the administration, the YFS held back on supporting or rejecting the deal to give time for student consultation.

The situation was particularly touchy since York students had led a five-year boycott of Pepsi products in the mid 1990s following the opening of their operation facilities in Burma – a country with a poor human rights track record.

York eventually implemented the deal without YFS support.

The YFS promised in the late 1990s to have a student vote on the matter within a few years, when it would have the ability to provide more of its own club funding. Now they plan on publishing a report detailing the negative effects of corporatization on campus by the end of this year.

York students had begun to accept Pepsi’s presence on campus, but not without the occasional protest.

In October 1998, students posted a large sign at York’s stadium saying “Pepsi owns York.” York officials took it down 40 minutes after kickoff, with students questioning their ability to protest university decisions.

Since then, Pepsi has dispensed about $47,500 a year to the YFS for student club funding, plus an additional $7,500 a year in funding to the Graduate Students’ Association.

The GSA refuses to take its share of the money, preferring to steer clear of corporate aid. The GSA’s money is used by YFS, instead, to provide even more club funding.

“The ideal situation would be that these funds would come from the public purse,” explained Habib.

YFS spends over $90,000 a year on clubs. While Pepsi pays for the full cost of community service groups (approximately $47,500), the YFS has to incur the additional expenses of club campaigns, resource centres, orientation week activities and other extra costs, which have grown over the years.

“We have to be realistic with the dynamics of the situation on campus. We don’t want a situation where students have less resources to work with on campus, but at the same time, we don’t want to become dependent on corporate deals to fund student activities,” said Habib.

“When you think about how the contract was signed, there has to be more money coming in,” said YFS president Omari Mason. “We want to see what the student benefit is with the superior pricing that Pepsi is allowed to get on this campus.”

Like most cola deals at other universities, including the U of M, York has a policy of not disclosing the exact data of the corporate contract. The administration maintains that if data is disclosed, it will put companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Andrew Wickens, York University’s assistant vice-president of campus operations, was unavailable for comment.

York’s cola contract is scheduled to finish by the end of 2008. It is not known whether the university signed on with a quota requirement.

-With files from Angela Pacienza