Killer Coke pressures U-Albany for Change.

University at Albany students are dropping their Coke habits in the fight for human rights.

Over the past few years numerous workers of the Coca-Cola bottling company in Columbia were kidnapped, tortured, and killed at the hands of anti-union paramilitary soldiers.

This is what the Killer Coke Campaign claims is happening. That is why students across the country, including the University at Albany, are rallying to ban Coke from their campuses. They are fighting to “stop the gruesome cycle of murders;” to force Coke to provide safe working conditions for their employees, according to Ray Rogers, the National and International Campaign Director.

In July 2001 the United Steelworkers Union of America and the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola on behalf of the SINALTRAINAL, the National Union of Food Industry workers, to try and end their daily life-and-death struggles.

In response to this allegation Coke representatives have repeatedly stated their “company and bottling partners have been valuable members of the Columbian community for more than 70 years and they respect the rights of all employees, including those who choose third-party representation or Union membership.” They also claim that there is “not a single indication” that Coke has links to any armed groups.

However this lawsuit has not produce any results and the SINALTRAINAL have turned to Rogers for help. In April 2003 the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke officially began with a protest at Coca-Cola’s annual meeting in Houston, Texas, and “has had a strong vocal presence at every meeting since,” Rogers said.

According to the campaign’s website Coke is directly affiliated with the paramilitary security forces whom are kidnapping and torturing union leaders and organizers. Currently eight people are known to have been killed by these U.S. trained soldiers, including Isdro Segundo Gil, whose picture appears below.

To stop these unnecessary killings the Killer Coke Campaign has developed six key strategies: cut out key markets such as universities, mount a threat to Coke’s billion dollar image, target top executives to make changes, pressure Coke’s key financial allies to cut ties, work with major institutional investors to stop the money flow, and highlight Coke’s crimes and abuses worldwide.

So far at least 48 colleges and universities have removed Coke machines and banned the selling of Coke products at their campuses, and hundreds more have campaigns working to get Killer Coke off their own.

When Jackie Hayes, a graduate student in Latin American studies came to U-Albany in 2006 she began working with the Students for Workers Rights Group to get university officials to drop the present contract with Coke and adopt a non-exclusive contract with an alternative company.

Hayes and her team of 10 students have been organizing rallies and student protests over the last two years in hopes to raise awareness of Coke’s crimes amongst students. On April 3 they held a press conference/rally outside the campus center making their intentions to kick Coke off the campus clear to all those who attended. “Do we want to be associated with this company that has caused innocent bloodshed,” Hayes frequently asks students in her fight against Coke. According to Hayes about 80 percent of the students she has talked to believe her fight is one worth fighting and are happy to join in the boycott against Coke.

“I think it’s good that there are people out there working against Coke,” Sara Emmert, a sophomore at U-Albany said, when asked what she thought about the campaign. “But more people need to get involved because Coke is everywhere."


Besides holding rallies the group, along with the help of other student organizations, has conducted in-class demonstrations and drafted numerous petitions, the most powerful holding 1211 student signatures. These petitions, given to university officials, such as John Murphy, President of Univeristy Auxillary Services, were signed by random students at U-Albany who were told of Coke's crimes and then decided to take a second look at what they were drinking.

However, their are a handful of students who don't really care if it's Coke or Pepsi they drink. They don't think about politics when they are drinking their soda. Rochelle Raferrty is one of them. "I like Pepsi more than Coke, but I don't really believe all the things people say about people dieing over a drink." She feels if Coke is involved in these types of crimes then what is to say Pepsi or any other muti-national company isn't doing the same thing.

The most recent demonstration was held today with students making their own signs to protest what they find most offensive about the campaign. Hayes also hopes to deliver all the evidence of Coke’s abuses overseas to administrators, “preferably in a wheel barrel.”

Working from Roger’s key strategies, the students at U-Albany are hoping to put a dent into the already tarnished image Coke has spent billions of dollars to create. In June 2004 Fortune Magazine stated, “Coke’s decision not to investigate possible union-related murders at its bottlers in Columbia has become a public relations nightmare.” By making this lack of interest public knowledge student workers across the country are further damaging Coke’s dwindling image, making Coke a product to be avoided. When asked, for this article, if the Coca-Cola Company could explain why people were dieing in their bottling factories they had no comment and when pressured relinquished vauge remarks about how good their relationship with the Columbian workers was.

Along with crushing Coke’s image the Killer Coke Campaign is credited for the resignation of key Coke officials, including former Chair and CEO Douglas Draft, according to a 2004 article from the Washington Post.

They have also been working to get SunTrust, Coke’s key financial ally, to end their involvement with the company. To do this Rogers and his team have been organizing with other union and labor groups the boycott of SunTrust “until the rights and safety of workers is protected.”

Although all of the goals mentioned above have been key in the fight against Killer Coke the final two that Roger has mentioned are possibly the most vital to the campaign. The targeting of major institutional investors and the success in this field has shown the seriousness of the Killer Coke Campaign. Their biggest success according to Rogers is that they “kicked Coke out of the world’s second largest socially screened fund, the TIAA-CREF’s,” Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, College Retirement Equities Fund. This $9 billion Social Choice Account, which divested 1.25 million shares of Coca-Cola Company’s stock, has turned its back on Coke in response to the neglect of basic human rights in the Columbia bottling factories.

The power of the Killer Coke campaign to open peoples’ eyes to the crimes and abuses that the Coke Company virtually ignores everyday has been what makes this campaign so strong. However, this has only been possible through the hard work of student protestors and involved individuals who will not back down from the multi-billion dollar corporation. They feel it is peoples’ right worldwide to know that Coke’s workers are not being allowed to unionize, are forced to work in horrible working conditions that are extremely unsafe, are dying without the slightest acknowledgement from Coke. They also want to share with people the fact that Coke executives make millions of dollars each year with added bonuses while thousands of employees are laid off or paid well below what they should make. They are not making these things up or forcing people to stop drinking Coke they are simply making it the information available to all those who care.

With Coke dropping from campuses all across the country, the latest being New York University this spring, it is only a matter of time according to Rogers that U-Albany ends their contract with Coke. The current contract is exclusive to Coke products, meaning 95 percent of the campus’s beverages must be Coke products. However, this 10-year contract expired this year and university officials are working on negotiating a new one. John Murphy, the man in charge of contracting vendors, hopes to have negotiations done by May 2.

Although Coke’s time at U-Albany may soon be up the fight against Killer Coke is still waging throughout the country. Roger’s states they will not be done fighting until the time “when people see Coca-Cola beverages and ads, and think of crimes and other misconduct so unthinkable that all of Coke’s products become undrinkable.”

Link to more pictures of protests for Kill Coke: http://www.killercoke.org/protestcolom.htm

Glenn D. Leupold

Below is a list of the information that I have obtained over the last couple of months on Glenn D. Leupold:

-he is the co-pastor of the 1st Presbyterian Church in Albany
-he is married to Miriam Lawrence Leopold, who is the administrator at the church
-he came to the Church in Albany in September 2006
-he lives in Delmar, NY
-when he bought his house on July 20, 2006 he paid $242,000.00 and his mortage is handled through First Priority Mortage Inc.
-he has lived in Dayton, OH, Jamestown, NY, and Winchester, VA
-in Dayton, OH he served as the Associate Pastor at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, an urban church with 1200 members
-he has 2 daughter, Margaret and Elizabeth and 7 pets
-his wife grew up in Virginia, graduated from the College of William and mary with a BA in anthropology and then got a Masters of Divinity from Princeton.
-met his wife at Princeton where he went for his masters
-after graduating from Princeton her lived in Edinburg, Scotland with his wife for a year
-when in Ohio he led mission trips to Mexico, Toronto, and West virginia
-he also launched the School Church Partners, a collaborative network of 50 schools and churches in Dayton
-he is an avid hiker, biker, and bird watcher.

Lucy Dalglish

The First Amendment is by far the most important amendment in protecting the rights of journalists across the country.

Lucy Dalglish, the Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of Press, emphasized just that to a group of journalism students at the University of Albany tonight.

Standing at a podium in the fading sunlight Dalglish explained to the students that their right to freedom of press was in jeopardy. “In the last couple of years things have gotten really bad, with the number of secrets kept by the national government souring,” Dalglish said.

She described through numerous examples how our government is slowly tightening its grip on journalists' right to information and to keep their notes and sources confidential, a power that has allowed journalists to publish the most sensitive of information without putting their sources livelihood or life itself at risk.

The case of the U.S. government vs. Toni Locy, a writer for USA Today at the time, highlighted her discussion. Dalglish explained how Locy had written a number of stories on the anthrax scare in 2002 and the possibility that a man named Steven Hatfill was the perpetrator.

As it turned out, Hatfill had in turned sued the federal government for violating the Federal Privacy Act. He claimed that executive officials had told reporters, such as Locy, he was under investigation for involvement with the anthrax scare, thus violating his right to privacy. However, he could only recover damages if he could prove that a member of the executive branch had leaked his information.

For his case to hold up in court Hatfill’s lawyers subpoenaed a number of reporters, including Locy to hand over their sources and notes. However, Locy, like many other reporters had thrown away her notes and had forgotten exactly who and what her sources had told her. Because Locy could not produce the subpoenaed documents the judge found her in contempt and charged her a $5,000 a day fee until she could produce them.

Dalglish explained that the underlying problem here is that there is no Federal Shield Law in place and never has been. A shield law, which almost all states have, protects journalists from having to hand over their notes and disclosing confidential sources in court.

“We have no Federal Shield Law and we are seeing the federal government arresting reporters for refusing to disclose their sources,” Bob Porter, senior editor of the Times Union, said. However, the implantation of a Federal Shield Law is exactly what Dalglish and her team have been working on in Washington and they have accomplished to get the highest majority vote in Congress for this bill that they have ever seen, with a 319-21 vote in the House.

“These bills are not perfect,” Dalglish said, “they are a product of reasoned compromise.” Although this has been the most success this particular legislature has seen in Congress over the last 30 years Dalglish says we will have to see what happens in the November elections before anything will be amended.

Editorial Cartoons

The editorial cartoons of both Mike Luckovich and Chuck Asay have a certain style to them that I admire. Like most editorial cartoons they poke fun at ongoing issues such as the never ending Democratic race and the rising gas prices, but what I like most is the way in which they draw their depictions of American society.


They both use thin black lines to create their images and have a nice balance throughout their compositions, making the entire cartoon visually interesting.


This cartoon done by Chuck Asay is one I particularly like. I love how he has used animals in place of people. It adds to the ridiculousness of the image, which reflects on the ridiculousness of the Democratic race for president. His use of multiple focal points also adds to the strength of the work, it helps to bring your eye around to the different contributing factors, the Obama/Hillary camps. Asay's cartoons all have this similar look and feel although they may be based on different events or ideas

Mike Luckovich's cartoons have a similar style to Asay's which I like. Again he is using mainly thin black lines to create his interesting compositions. However, what I like most is how he mixes more then one message into his cartoons. In this one for example he combines the problem of rising gas prices with the Pope's arrival. These dual messages add to the complexity and humor in his cartoons making them both interesting and funny.


For more cartoons by Chuck Asay and Mike Luckovich check out this link: http://www.comics.com/editoons/asay/index.html

Swift Boating

If you want to know what swift boating means, just ask John Kerry. In the 2004 election the Swift Vets and POWS for Truth, formally the Swift Boats for Truth, lead a widely-publicized campaign against Kerry. From this feud the term "swift boating" began to be used by people who disapproved of the Swift Vts and POWS for Truth's tactics in slandering Kerry during the presidential race.

Now this newly coined American political jargon that is mainly used as a degrogative description of some kind of attack that the speaker considers unfair or untrue.

Citizens Take a Stand.

Concerned citizens take opposing views in two of the cases brought before Albany’s Board of Zoning Appeals yesterday.

The first three cases breezed in the stuffy board room with no objections, but tension was building in the tightly packed audience. The citizens waiting to speak grew steadily with people coming from all generations, wanting their voices to be heard.

When the representative from the Fort Orange Club on Washington Avenue went before the Board to propose an extension of their parking lot quietness came over the meeting. Board member Joseph E. Ray III slowly took off his glasses slightly resting his head on his forefinger, patiently waiting to hear what this young man in a sleek suit had to say.

His proposal was to expand the current parking lot of 51 spaces to 73, in order “to accommodate two-lane traffic.” However, in order for the expansion two office buildings, owned by Fort Orange, would have to be destroyed. The representative further explained that this expansion would “enhance the landscape as well as increasing visibility while driving.”

Looking around at the disapproving faces of the audience members shaking their heads in retort, it was apparent the citizens of the Center Square Community were not impressed.

Lynne Jackson, a near by neighbor of the Fort Orange Club, was the second to speak in protest. She wished to “voice upmost and absolute objection to the Club’s proposal,” stating these businessmen needed to “come down from their high horses.” “Why can’t they ride the bus like the rest of us?”

Like Jackson, Richard Berkley, representative of the Hudson Park Neighborhood Association also objected to Fort Orange’s proposal. “We can always tear down buildings and add more parking,” Berkley told the six board members before him, “but we can’t re-create buildings.”

Once Berkley was finished Chairman of the Board G Michael Apostol patiently waited for anymore objections before he closed the case until the Board had time to make a thorough decision carefully weighing both sides of the argument.

As soon as Chairman Apostol’s mallet hit the rich wooden bench the doors of the Common Council Chamber swung open with a harsh snap. The citizens who had been patiently waiting outside to speak in behalf of the Harriet Tubman Free School had entered.

The Harriet Tubman Free School is a small inner-city school located at 59 Elizabeth Street, and is currently home to 35 individually recruited students. The proposal put before the Board was to expand the school to include the park next door, creating more space to teach and learn.

With this proposal the mood seemed to lighten throughout the Board room. The board members smiled at the students timid enthusiasm to have their school enlarged, encouraging them to speak their minds. “It’s good for us to have the school, to have a building to stand and work in,” Alexandria Sutter, a 9th grader at the school, said.

Parents and active community members, such as Chris Mercogliamo, also came out to show their support. “It’s the perfect home that they need to put down roots and grow,” Mercogliamo said, “It’s an extremely positive influence on the entire community.”

After hearing what the community had to say the board members immediately deliberated. When the six “I’s” were heard in approval a roar of cheering and applause broke out in the audience, engulfing the once dismal board room into a place of celebration.



P.S. I did take pictures during this put the editing program I have won't let me open .CR2 (raw) files so I won't be able to access them until I go to the photolab tomorrow.

Photojournalism

Vandalized wireless internet boxes leave U-Albany students stranded off-line.

Bruce Squiers has been a staff photographer at the Daily Gazette in Schenectady for 20 years. Last week he took some time to talk to a group of U-Albany journalism students about what it takes to be a photojournalist today.

In college Squiers studied journalism with the intentions of becoming a writer, however, after taking a class on photojournalism and working for a small newspaper, writing and taking pictures for his own stories, he fell in love with photography.

In his talk with students he highlighted a few key points one needs to be a good photojournalist: visual literacy, knowing the elements, active observation, and detachment from editing.
Visual literacy is ones ability to take meaningful information from a photograph. It is our ability, whether good or bad, to look at an image and understand what the photographer was trying to convey.

Squiers also told about four important elements for shooting newsworthy pictures. Light control and the ability to determine how to manipulate light is crucial in photography. You must also have a sense of composition, which is the way elements are lain out on the page, to take meaningful images. Along with using composition is a sense of balance in the photograph, the image doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical, but there needs to be an equality in elements. Last was perspective, perspective is where you are when you are taking the picture, standing up laying down; each position has an effect on how the picture will come out.

Active observation is another key point that Squiers hit on. It involves the photographer’s ability to be aware of their surroundings and know what will make a meaningful image. This, as Squiers described, is very important to being a good photojournalist, because even if you have a good eye for composition and perspective, if you can’t observe your surroundings well you will not make it as a photojournalist.

The last point he mentioned before saying his goodbyes to the class was how important it is to detach yourself from the editing of your images. Like in all news you must look at things objectively and not with the personal standpoint of the photographer. The photographer should be the harshest critic of their own work.

Although all of these points are very important for being a technically good photojournalist, Squiers could not stop stressing that it takes more than technical know how, even in this age of digital images. “The eye, the mind, and the heart must be aligned,” Squires said if compelling photographs are to be created.

What my grade should be for ARL 200Z.

It must be hard for a teacher to decide what grades a student should get. What assignments should be counted for more of a percentage, how much participation and attendance matter, should effort be calculated into the grade? Teachers need to answer all of these questions and many more when deciding what grade to give each student. Wouldn't it be easy if they could just ask their students what grade they thought they deserved.

Prof. Armao of my AJRL 200Z class did just that. She wants to know what grade we each think we deserve and why. After trying to put myself in her shoes as a teacher I have decided that an
A- would be a fair grade for the work I have been doing. I know I am not the best writer, and although my work may not meet A- or A standards at all times I am constantly trying to improve it; re-writing articles and changing my writing style to better fit the needs of the news. As well as working hard on improving my writing I have been working hard at learning the skills to become a better reporter by: meeting deadlines on assignments always on time, being in class on time, giving notice if and why I am not going to be in class, and participating 100% in each class.

I have also learned a lot in this class and I think grades should be measured not only by the work you do but by the knowledge you are taking away from the course. My researching skills have broadened emmensly and my ability to talk to strangers about pretty much anything is contantly growing, both of which are key skills to becoming a journalist and should be reflected in the grade I get. I know I am a good student and work hard at improving my flaws as a journalist, therefore I believe that I deserve an A- in our class.

6 Word Biography

Try to be different each day.