Letter to Kyle Steele from Sarah Haverstock
Hi Kyle,
I have just received a poignant email from Dewey detailing the impeding invasion of Tim Horton’s into the SUB. I do acknowledge that Tim’s is beloved to many Canadians and offers cheap, addictive coffee that half of our population runs on, however, the idea of a Tim Horton’s in the SUB does not contribute to what I think most students would like to see in their student’s centre. But as far as I can tell there is no way that you would know that, because student’s were not included in the decision making process. I am saddened that it is outside of the imagination of many students to picture a SUB with fair trade coffee from T.A.N., a local business, rather than a national corporation. I am saddened that the idea of paying a few cents more for coffee to pay a just price to farmers, who are fighting for their livelihoods and their dignity in the Global South, is not something that the ASU considers students willing to do. I am even more saddened that the ASU has failed to ask, inform, educate and inspire in this situation.
I ask that students be included in the decision making process and that the ASU thinks of the political, social, and environmental implications of having a Tim Horton’s in the SUB. This decision does not reflect the goals in Acadia’s Strategic Plan which states that “Acadia aspires to create…an active commitment to sustainability among all members of the campus community. The University community also aspires to prepare students to understand and address complex social questions and concerns.” This is an opportunity lost.
If a university (a microcosm test case of society at large) in the first ‘fair trade’ town in Canada, that has an interested service provider ready to go, and an educated student body that only needs the opportunity to act, cannot open a fair trade coffee shop in their SUB, how can we expect other communities to make a move towards sustainability?
Sincerely,
Sarah Haverstock
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