AES/SO Call to Action
Hello giant AES mailing list,
Many of you have probably heard the rumor that Tim Horton’s will be opening in the Perkin’s space in the SUB, and a recent email from Kyle Steele seems to indicate that this will be happening. However, nothing has been made public, which leads me to believe that there is still time at act. I/the AES/the SO have a few issues with the decision to place Tim Horton’s in the SUB, which include:
1. This decision has been made without an open forum to discuss food options, especially with regard to sustainability. As far as we know (and we don’t know much because the ASU has provided little or no information) last year focus groups were asked questions last year about which coffee they would prefer (where Tim’s came up first) and why (because it’s the cheapest). There was no chance for sustainability advocates to bring up sustainability as an issue with regard to food service, and no option included to allow for a student-run coffee shop.
2. Tim Horton’s is a national corporation, where food gets shipped in from huge distances away. Despite the fact that this franchise would be “locally” owned, most franchise owners operate many Tim’s, and all procedures, including those relating to sustainability, need to go through the corporate office (procedures like…when you get your reusable mug filled up, they take a regular coffee cup, fill it up, and dump it into your reusable mug. due to health and safety regulations.). Kyle has assured me that the ASU will take a “modest” share of the profits as well as an initial boost, but the rest will be split between the “local” franchise owner, and some will likely get funneled into the national office, possibly indirectly (I have zero idea how franchises work.) The point is, a student-based incarnation of Perkin’s keeps ALL profits in the student body, supporting a local economy based on local (as local as possible..but at least we could control it) goods.
3. A Tim Horton’s (or any national franchise) limits the ability of the SUB to function as a student community space. Another corporate icon in our student space makes the main floor look a little bit like a food court at a mall, whereas what we need is a business that will engage students by doing more than selling them coffee (music, speaker series, general programming). The location is perfect for this, but we doubt a Tim’s has the investment in the community to undertake programming such as this.
4. A viable alternative exists. TAN has all the equipment necessary, and could open in a month or less. They have also pledged to come as close as possible to (likely matching) Tim’s coffee prices. This may not be the only viable alternative, but it seems as if the ASU never looked for other options (see point number 1).
There’s probably more, and if you have questions you can email us (me: aes@acadiau.ca, amy: sustain@acadiau.ca). But the most important of these is number one - regardless of whether you want Tim Horton’s or not, the fact that the ASU never engaged students in open discussion over food service options or terms of a contract should send hairs standing up on the back of your neck. What you can do now: email the ASU President (Kyle Steele: asupresident@acadiau.ca) and tell them you want the opportunity to discuss decisions affecting your student space, and that the decision to choose Tim Horton’s to replace Perkins should be opened up for this type of discussion. If you feel that they are also an evil corporation, feel free to say so, but that’s not the point. The point is that the ASU has not been open about this decision, and we feel they should be because more sustainable options exist. You can also forward this email to him, if words are lacking…but try to include some kind of personal note.
Please please please do this! and do it right away! There is probably (again, we have no idea) not much time left to act, so do your part to show that your student space can’t be bought by corporate interests.
with love and affection,
-dewey