At the end of this year, Gustavus, led by our fearless leader Roley Poley Ohle, will make a decision on which soda company the school will use for the first time since 1997.

While this debate has been constructed by the duality of Pepsi v. Coke, let us not forget that these are not our only two options. Unlike using a vote for a third party candidate, (*cough* don’t waste your time voting for Ron Paul *cough*), Gustavus has the opportunity to take the higher ground, the moral ground, and pick a company that actually implements a strong ethical code: Jones Soda Co.

For the average Gustie, especially those new ones brought to campus by the Make Your Life Count agenda, the debate is between whether we want Coke or Pepsi, Vault or Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper or Pibb Extra and, most importantly, Sprite or Sierra Mist. And one mustn’t forget the be all and end all of discussions: money.

In 1997, the contract helped fund an academic building and stabilize the financial state of Gustavus. It made sense from a fiscal standpoint, given the state of the college, to sign a 14-year contract for school beverages. And how was Gustavus supposed to know that Coca-Cola had already gone to India in 1973, was forced to leave because of new governmental policies, came back in 1991 and took ground water from poor Indian villages and bought out the competition so that even in India it’s either Pepsi or Coke?

They couldn’t. I mean, it was 1997; I most definitely would not have waited for dial-up internet to find out information that was easily accessible. No, sir.

So let’s be fair, and give Gustavus a pass for choosing Coca-Cola. Everyone can make a mistake. But now this Ohle guy is telling me that this new contract is either going back to Coca-Cola or to Pepsi.

So by now you must be thinking, well if Coke is exploiting millions of Indians, let’s go with Pepsi. Problem solved. The only issue with that, however, is that Pepsi isn’t exactly the good sibling in this scenario. Pepsi has been an economic driving force in countries like South Africa, even when the U.S. had placed sanctions against them, and Burma, where freedom of drink is anything but close to the minds of their people. Not only this, Pepsi uses animals to test the safety of ingredients, and their practice of targeting kids, especially in India, has raised obesity and diabetes rates incredibly.

What to do, what to do. It’s like when someone tells you to flip a coin, you can only say heads, or tails, and if not, you don’t even play the game. What I am proposing, is that instead of heads or tails, we call the edge of the coin, and insert a new company into the mix.

Jones Soda Co. is where we should be looking. The company “is committed to conducting its business in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations and the highest standards of business ethics, and to full and accurate financial disclosure in compliance with applicable law.”

This statement, from their code of ethics adopted in 2004, has yet to be broken or even cracked. Jones is a green company, one that is based entirely in the United States, one that puts customer-submitted pictures on their bottles, one that uses pure cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup and one that uses recycled products in their bottles. Plus, Jones carries a large line of USDA certified organic tea.

So is Jones Soda Co. the only, or even the best solution? Of course not. But the point is that you, yes you, Gusties, need to find alternatives to Pepsi and Coke in order to make Gustavus a truly conscience-driven school.

So instead of writing off this debate as a lesser of two evils, as Pepsi v. Coke, note that we have the opportunity to make a change. And if we are going to make our lives count, we need to practice what we preach and not add a contract with Coke or Pepsi. If you, as students, truly want to make your life count and truly want to make a difference, stand up in class, write to Mr. GuacamOhle and make this happen, because it stands no chance without your support.