Hi 79 / Lo 38
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Volume 72, Issue 113,
Thursday, March 22, 2007
News Fair-trade coffee proposal sparks debate by JENNIFER EARLY
Fair-trade coffee was the topic of heated debate Wednesday during the last meeting of the Student Government Association's outgoing administration. Tim O'Brien, Students for Fair Trade member and SGA graduate senator-elect, addressed the Senate to encourage senators to consider passing a resolution in support of selling 100 percent fair trade-certified coffee at UH. "I became a part of a national board of students, and we took a trip to Nicaragua last summer. We visited some coffee plantations. This woman I saw had written down her living conditions. She gets less than $2 a day and is fed black beans every day," O'Brien said. "You know if you've taken the required history class (on campus) that our country was founded on slavery. She's not enslaved because she can leave anytime she wants. However, with the amount of money she makes, she can't go anywhere. Fair trade doesn't do this to people. It pays them a living wage." English junior and SFT member Ross Barnard said UH is a diverse campus with many international students from areas directly associated with fair trade. "Coffee is grown is Asia, Latin America and Africa. There are a lot of international students who have stopped by the (SFT) table and said they've grown up in countries where fair trade exists," Barnard said. Gus Forward, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences senator-elect, presented a resolution in support of UH dining services vendor Aramark purchasing and selling organic fair trade-certified coffee from one of its cooperatives. Forward said he was sponsoring the resolution because he felt the SFT members should have an equal opportunity to speak before the Senate. "(If passed, Aramark) shall purchase this coffee for all UH uses by the start of the Fall 2007 semester. SGA encourages University and community leaders to adopt a similar policy for social and environmental responsibility," Forward said. Sam Dike, vice president-elect, addressed concerns about the student body not having enough say in terms of the possibility of rising coffee costs. "I did my own research on the fair trade issue. I wanted to keep an open mind and look at both sides of the issue," Dike said. "Our No. 1 concern must be the needs and issues of students of campus. I saw no direct advantages to the students as a whole. "It's listed that fair trade uses price premiums, which means that fair trade products are sometimes priced higher than others. Therefore, supporting that would take away from the students." Barnard responded that UH does currently offer some fair-trade coffee items for the same price as those seen in Starbucks. "I realize you are reading something where there is a price premium, but what (SFT) is referring to is what is being done on campus. Right now, if you go anywhere on campus, fair trade is the same price," he said. "As far as Starbucks goes, I don't think we should have the option for exploitation. This campus shouldn't offer anything that involves exploitation, that involves slavery." Brian Ambridge, education senator, strongly disagreed with the term slavery being used in association with fair trade. "They are not slaves. They are being paid a salary. Two dollars … you know what? That's more than the minimum wage in Mexico right now, so obviously they are getting some sort of wage. They are not being forced to grow coffee," Ambridge said. David Rosen, president-elect, encouraged senators to take their time and ask questions in order to make an informed decision. "This has been a movement gaining steam outside (SGA). To be honest with you, I haven't heard any opposition from the student voices," Rosen said. The resolution was sent to the University Administration and Finance Committee to be analyzed in further detail. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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