Arbiter Online

Issue date: 11/12/07 Section: Opinion

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I've noticed that it's really difficult to attend any class on this campus without seeing multiple Starbucks cups in the hands of the students and teachers. I've also noticed the Nike swoosh imprinted on Boise State University clothing, and let's not forget the Taco Bell Arena controversy. The more I see it, the more irritated I get with all the commercialism around campus. It's not just any company either; these are the ones with heinous histories of working conditions and quality. These are companies that I choose not to support. For example, the last article of Nike clothing I owned was a sweatshirt from my freshman year of high school. I avoid Starbucks as much as possible, but it's harder to avoid because a lot of my friends are corporate coffee friendly. Fast food really isn't all that appealing either. It is a rare and desperate day when I cave in to a drive-through window, with the exception of Fancy Freeze (and even that's a guilty pleasure). I feel slightly disconnected and disappointed to see students blindly consuming with little thought to how it affects them and the rest of the world. As far as food and beverages go, Starbucks peddles milk with growth hormones and genetically-engineered products. It's fairly common knowledge that Starbucks, Nike and Taco Bell aren't particularly caring when it comes to paying fair wages. Between sweatshops and farmers getting less than a competitive price for its goods, it doesn't make sense that we would want these companies synonymous with our campus. Surprisingly, there was little objection to the new coffee bar in the library. The whole deal with Taco Bell was about workers not getting the pay that they deserve, and yet less than 1 percent of Starbucks coffee is Fair Trade-certified according to Global Exchange. No one blinked while we erected a commercial blemish in the most fair and public of buildings - a library. Is it because we now don't have to cross University Drive to access our happy, national coffee company that we all stood blithely by? Or, maybe it's because we didn't change the library name to the Starbucks Library. Maybe it's because everyone loves that they decorate for Christmas, and start stocking Christmas items the first week of November. Just contemplate: our campus is carrying Christmas kitsch already! Or is it that there is just general student apathy toward commercialism and consumerism? Does anyone notice that we are waltzing around wearing the product of someone's nearly slave labor? Do we not even notice that we're participating in the manipulation? "Nike, for example, is leveraging the deep emotional connection that people have with sports and fitness. With Starbucks, we see how coffee has woven itself into the fabric of people's lives, and that's our opportunity for emotional leverage … A great brand raises the bar - it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters," Bedbury, head of marketing for Nike and Starbucks, said. Really, are we that malleable? I personally feel insulted that some corporation actually thinks that I can be persuaded to believe that my clothes will make me more motivated, or that a particular brand of coffee will cause me to feel special. Does Nike really make you feel like you should strive harder while playing sports? I can assure you, the swoosh really won't make you faster or stronger. Does that particular cup of coffee really matter? There are a few better local brands of coffee, and there are plenty of store-bought options that are Fair Trade. There is no point in putting a Starbucks in the library when all students have to do is cross the street to get the very same coffee at a privately-owned Starbucks, where I didn't have to feel like my academic career has been tainted by commercialism every time I want to study or check out a book. With the increase in technology, schools turned to the private sector to fund new computers and science equipment. In turn, companies saw this as a way of getting their foot in the door. What better way to imprint children and young adults with branding? However, should our schools be turned into commercial outlets, or are there better ways of solving the problem? "As many have noted, a university should value different things than the market: openness, not ownership; cooperative scholarship, not self-seeking competition; knowledge, not entrepreneurial success; and challenging students as learners, not simply satisfying them as consumers," Dr. Stephen Bocking, Professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University.

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