By Stephen Babcock
In the coming weeks, a new type of coffee could be making an appearance in campus dining halls, said Chartwells manager Rudy Simchak.
The coffee won’t be distinct for its flavor, but would be sealed with the mark of “Fair Trade Certified.”
The Progressive Student Alliance (PSA) will meet with Simchak today to determine whether Fair Trade coffee will be made available to Northeastern students.
Fair Trade coffee is produced through an equitable and fair partnership between consumers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Members of PSA, who have been campaigning for Fair Trade coffee on campus since fall semester, said the change in the dining hall will mean a lot to struggling Third World farmers who are preyed upon by large coffee companies.
“Huge coffee distributors can get away with buying coffee far below what these small farmers need to live. The only reason they drive the prices down is because they’re the only competition,” said PSA member Elliott McGann, a senior political science major. “Fair Trade is a system that buys coffee from the farmers at a higher price, so they have higher pay.”
Rittazza, the brand of coffee Chartwells sells on campus, has several Fair Trade blends available, but they are not currently used on campus.
For the first week of the spring semester, Simchak said Fair Trade was used in the Stetson East and West dining halls. He said it was removed the next week because it “didn’t go over well with the students.”
“Students just didn’t like the flavor,” Simchak said. “Everyone has their own likes and dislikes.”
He said new coffee is normally given a week-long trial run to see how it will go over with students.
PSA members agreed the coffee didn’t meet their flavor expectations, but there are other Fair Trade blends Rittazza offers.
In response to the coffee’s removal, PSA began a campaign to demonstrate the need for the coffee to Simchak. The group petitioned students on campus, offered Fair Trade coffee samples and donned a mascot known as the “mug of justice” to try to get its point across.
After writing letters and making repeated phone calls, members of the group showed up at Simchak’s office with close to 100 petition signatures in tow at 8 a.m. last Thursday morning to attempt to secure a meeting with him.
Simchak was not there, although members were told to come at the beginning of the business day if they wanted to speak with him. They claimed Simchak was avoiding them, as no meeting was set up.
“I don’t understand why he’s avoiding us when all we want is a meeting,” said PSA member Jesse Jolly.
When contacted by The News Friday, Simchak said a meeting had been set up for today.
He said he had ordered two other samples of Fair Trade coffee to test and distribute at the meeting in hopes of getting the blend back in the dining halls.
“We’ll have to do some sampling, and I’ll see if they have any special requests, but I think we can come to an agreement on this,” Simchak said. “I don’t know what the miscommunication was.”
Though he remains frustrated with the process, McGann said he is hopeful about getting the Fair Trade blend back in the dining halls.
Eventually, he said the group will campaign for more Fair Trade coffee on campus. Students at Boston University successfully pushed for Fair Trade everywhere on campus two years ago.
“The grand goal would be to get Fair Trade coffee everywhere on campus — all the Chartwells venues, as well as places like the Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts,” McGann said.
