Students protest Coca-Cola's presence at IU during meeting

Eight students lying face down with faux morbidity in pools of their own red blood made of felt were of little concern to those in attendance at Saturday's trustee press conference. The droves of reporters, professors and IU administrators in the lobby of the mezzanine floor of the Indiana Memorial Union only glanced at the students as they stepped over them.\nThe students, members of IU-Bloomingon's No Sweat! and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis' Students Advocating for Global Equality, were protesting IU's contract with Coca-Cola. And, it seemed, their silent opposition was an unwelcome distraction.\nBut the protestors weren't surprised or hindered by the lack of attention.\n"We expected that," said IUB junior and No Sweat! member Phil Shelton.\nShelton said though they hoped the large media and administrative presence from the trustee hubbub would garner them more notice than they received, the group realized it would not take center stage.\nIU currently has a contract with Coca-Cola until 2009, which brings the University roughly $1.7 million each year in cash incentives and a significant price discount for Coke products. In return, IU sells only Coca-Cola products on campus and at sporting events. \n"As an ethical mass consumer, IU should not be doing business with a company that commits such human rights violations," Shelton said.\nNo Sweat! and SAGE allege Coke has been involved in intimidating union leaders in Colombia, among other violations. A full list of allegations against Coke can be found at www.killercoke.org.\nWhen confronted in the past, Coke has denied any wrongdoing and has launched the Web site www.cokefacts.org in response. Following the high profile cases of both New York University and the University of Michigan dropping their Coke contracts at the insistence of students in December, Shelton said the mission of No Sweat! has been reinvigorated.\nSince IU's contract with Coke doesn't end until 2009, No Sweat!'s initial strategy was education, hoping to dissuade IU from renewing the contract. But with the recent victories, Shelton said anti-Coke groups are stepping up efforts, hoping IU will break its contract and leave Coke sooner rather than later.\n"We're going to start pressuring the IU administration harder on this issue ... and try to effect change now," he said.