Student Action

The real truth about what you drink at school and on campus...

“The name of the game is to create a Coke or Pepsi drinker in the 6-to-24-age group. If the pop kings can create brand loyalty at that stage of life, chances are they will have nurtured a new crop of lifetime consumers of their products. For both Pepsi and Coke, the place to start is in schools, colleges and university campuses. Their strategy: an ingenious marketing tool called the ‘exclusive beverage agreement’”

Students across Canada and the US are increasingly challenging the presence of the cola kings Coke and Pepsi at their schools and campuses for a variety of reasons, such as corporate misconduct and the commercialization of public space.
This webpage is designed to support these campaigns and foster activism in schools and on campuses that exposes bottled water for what it truly is; a trend based on consumer manipulation, environmental degradation and the expansion of corporate control of a precious, life-sustaining common resource.

This webpage provides a space to connect student grassroots activism, sharing of campaign tools and experiences, and coalition-building amongst student campaigns. It is part of Polaris Institute’s ‘Inside the Bottle’ project – an awareness to action campaign focused on saving our water systems.

Student Action

Articles

November 21st campus day of action: update and results

Posted: December 2, 2007
Picture of the Working Students' Centre's (Ryerson University) 'tower of consumption,' one of two actions campus organizers across the country...
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Canada: Dangers of bottled water

Posted: December 2, 2007 Kelowna News. By Wayne moore -
A group of students at UBC-Okanagan hope to the curtail the consumption of bottled water on the Kelowna...
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US: Bottled water backlash starting, being seen as environmentally unsound

Posted: December 2, 2007 The University of Evansville Crescent online. By Sandy bauers -
(MCT) PHILADELPHIA—Bottled water, once an icon of a healthy lifestyle,...
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Canada: Testing the waters of the bottled water industry

Posted: November 28, 2007 The Brock Press. By Courtney Kaminski -
As part of the National Day of Action, organized by the Inside the Bottle campaign, OPIRG-Brock...
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Canada: U of G students join water fight

Posted: November 25, 2007 The Guelph Mercury. By Magda Konieczna -
A group of university students is working to ban bottled water on campus. It's part of a growing...
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Canada: Bottled water: is there more in the bottle than meets the eye?

Posted: November 25, 2007 Brock Press. By Courtney Kaminski -
Canadians drink more of this beverage than coffee, tea, apple juice or milk - and in the land where Tim...
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Canada: Before you take another sip, read these facts

Posted: November 25, 2007 The Toronto Sun. By Sarah Green -
For a city on a lake, Toronto consumes a ton of bottled water. Make that 1,000 tonnes -- the weight of...
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Canada: Bottled water wasteful, overpriced: students

Posted: November 25, 2007 The Toronto Star. By Curtis Rush -
Bottled water wasteful, overpriced: students VIDEO: Ryerson challenges bottled water industry, click...
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US: Young Voices: Bottled water erodes wallets, environment

Posted: November 13, 2007 The Columbian. By Alex Rennemann, a senior at Skyview High School -
Aquafina, Arrowhead, Dasani, Evian, Fiji. Just a few names of the many...
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Student 'Inside the Bottle' campaign campus workshop tour update

Posted: November 11, 2007 The recent student ‘Inside the Bottle’ campaign campus workshop tour was a success. The purpose of the workshops was to give a brief overview...
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Canada: How to be 'green' for the average student

Posted: November 4, 2007 The Strand. By: Mikaela Davis -
We have all heard about global warming and how we are destroying our world. I suspect most of us have seen...
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Canada: Students tackle bottled water

Posted: November 4, 2007 The Guelph Tribune. Water Awareness Week events are being held at the University of Guelph the week of Monday Nov. 19 to Friday Nov. 23. The...
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US: Sleeping pills for kids top global list of bad products

Posted: October 30, 2007 Yahoo News -
Sleeping pills advertised for children, dangerous toys and bottled water taken from local reservoirs are among the world's...
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Canada: Tapping into bottled water concerns

Posted: October 21, 2007 The Jouurnal, Queen's University. By Jill Buchner -
Environmental effects may make you think twice about that Dasani Soda has been...
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US: Students raise awareness of bottled water's harm

Posted: October 16, 2007 The Cornell Daily Sun. By Cara Sprunk -
Studies have repeatedly shown that water is good for our body, but what about bottled water and...
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US: Students Raise Awareness Of Bottled Water’s Harm

Posted: October 16, 2007 The Cornell Daily Sun. By Cara Sprunk -
Studies have repeatedly shown that water is good for our body, but what about bottled water and the...
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Student action update: OPIRG-Brock passes resolution to ban bottled water!

Posted: October 15, 2007 OPIRG-Brock is a non-profit, student-funded and student directed organization, which encourages and supports research, education and action on social...
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Student action update: Ottawa university Coca-Cola exclusivity contract ends

Posted: October 15, 2007 "The University of Ottawa / Coca-Cola exclusivity contract had a ten-year term ending in 2007. Considering that the sales of Coca-Cola products did...
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US: Buying bottled-water hype drains resources

Posted: October 14, 2007 The Kansas City Star. By Lewis Diuguid -
A strange thing surfaced in recent discussions with young people. The first time was at...
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US: Students urge residents to lose the bottle

Posted: October 14, 2007 The Tufts Daily. By: Daniel Pasternack -
Tufts students joined with city officials, community members and leaders of lobbying organizations...
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US: 'Cathy' comic helps university's campaign against bottled water

Posted: October 14, 2007 Editor and Publisher. By E&P Staff -
NEW YORK The University of Maryland is using Cathy Guisewite's "Cathy" comic to help encourage...
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US: Campus decision to kick Coke under reconsideration

Posted: September 27, 2007 The Pheonix Online. By Elna Chopyak -
After a two-and-a-half year campaign to remove Coca-Cola products from campus resulted in a victory for...
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Campus decision to kick coke under reconsideration

Posted: September 20, 2007 Elena Chopak, September 20, 2007, The Phoenix (Swarthmore College Student Newspaper) - After a two-and-a-half year campaign to remove Coca-Cola...
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US: Watchdog group protests bottled water companies on West Mall

Posted: September 18, 2007 The Daily Texan. By Anita Avram -
"Keep Austin Weird" has become a universal slogan for Austinites. "Keep Austin's Water Public?" Some...
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US: In hot water

Posted: September 3, 2007
The Brown and White, Lehigh University's Student Newspaper. By the Editorial Board - The choice by dining services to remove tap water...
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