I came back to campus this semester with hope for a bright and successful scholastic term. Sadly this will not be the case because this semester I have lost a powerful study aid. I have lost my beloved beverage Coca-Cola.
Replacing it is the horribly sugar filled Pepsi.
There may be some who rejoice in this change, but for me it’s the biggest disaster to hit the school since the Ike riots of 08. Now in order to achieve liquid bliss I have to leave the campus and hit up a restaurant or a grocery store. Although this is a minor inconvenience it’s still annoying. I understand it made economic sense to switch to Pepsi but why couldn’t the cafeteria, the bookstore or even the Planet Bistro be allowed to keep some coke products on hand?
Aside from the tear-jerking taste change the new machines are oddly creepy looking. The coke machines of old gave off a soothing red light, which drew me in like an old friend. The Pepsi machines however are so brightly lit they give off the impression an alien has invaded the room and is attempting to blind the populace with a great blue light.
America is a place of choices, a place of freedom a land where men and women have options about almost everything. The school taking away our ability to purchase Coca-Cola products is un-American. Students and faculty need sodas of every variety to quench their thirst, just like our country needs diversity to push it towards prosperity.
It’s not just about the soda. Next time it could a food product. How horrible would it be if Snickers were removed from the campus, or the beloved nacho cheese Doritos and replaced with Smarties and pickle chips. In these unsure economic times there is no telling how long companies like Coca-Cola will be around. Why not make sure the products are available for as long as possible.
As for me, I’ll continue to buy Coke from our neighborhood grocers, but rest assured one day soon a speak easy will form out of this new incarnation of prohibition.