On May 17, President Martha Pollack sent the Student Assembly (SA) a formal response to a pair of resolutions calling for a ban on selling Starbucks coffees on campus.
On May 11 and 12, during the study days just before exams, a dozen Cornell students occupied the lobby of Day Hall and refused to leave unless they could first speak with Pollack about Cornell’s relationship with Starbucks. They first demanded face time with Pollack, but as she was traveling back from Qatar, they settled for a promise of a Zoom call. This in turn set up a meeting for next week with Cornell Dining and legal officials to discuss their demand that Cornell replace Starbucks with an “ethical” coffee supplier that meets the satisfaction of the protesting students as well as the Starbucks Workers Union (SWU).
At the same time, the protest leaders and the competing candidates for the SA President vacancy co-sponsored two resolutions on the subject of Starbucks goods being sold in campus cafes. Despite being in the midst of a stalemate over who would lead the body, the SA took the time to adopt resolutions declaring, “it shall be the policy of the Department of Student and Campus Life and Cornell Dining to reassess its relationship with Starbucks and withdraw from the ‘We Proudly Serve Starbucks’ program no later than the beginning of the Fall 2023 Semester.” Essentially, President Pollack’s rejection is a veto of that proposed policy.
Meanwhile, extreme conservatives have been calling for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks because of a commercial that is deemed to take a stand on gender ideology issues.
Instead of addressing the conservatives or the Day Hall occupiers, Pollack addressed just the SA resolutions. She wrote,
Regarding Resolution #1, our current agreement with Starbucks ends in 2025. We commit to starting a review of the contract and consideration of future vendors by Fall 2024, almost a year prior to the contract’s expiration, and conducting due diligence before determining the next contract. Cornell Dining management will engage regularly with the Student Assembly Dining Committee throughout that review.
Regarding Resolution #2, we have a confidentiality clause in our contract with Starbucks, so we are not able to disclose the contract terms.
Cornell President Martha Pollack
In sum, Cornell will not switch coffee suppliers for the fall semester, and will not disclose the prices it is paying for its bulk purchases of Starbucks coffee. Having announced a final decision on May 17, it is not clear what will be discussed at the promised meeting between the protestors and Cornell Dining next week.
