Letter to the (WSJ) Editor

A graduating senior at my university submitted the following "letter to the editor" to the Wall Street Journal, and apparently it was published.  The VP of our "Associated Student Government" later responded (further down).  It's somewhat disturbing that a student graduating from the business school here could produce what you'll read below.

 

Jonathan DeVore

 

 

 

 

"Don Seymour Jr." <SeymouDP@muohio.edu> wrote:
 Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 21:00:21 -0400
 From: "Don Seymour Jr." <SeymouDP@muohio.edu>
Subject: Response to WSJ

          Hey .

       Like I'd mentioned to you, in yesterday's Wall Street Journal a
student by the name of Nick Ulrich wrote the following "letter to the
editor":



       Coffee & Sympathy, An Anticapitalist Brew

       In regard to your March 28 editorial concerning Starbucks and the
fact that it was forced to offer Free Trade Coffee so that its customers
could overpay for coffee in order to provide a "living wage" for coffee
farmers in third world countries.
       I am a student at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. Our student
government recently passed (overwhelmingly, I might add) a resolution
stating that the student body now wants coffee purchased at the fair price
of $1.26 per pound, well above the going rate for coffee. One student
senator said this "promotes global economic justice and fairness in this
area." Another remarked, "Miami needs to take a stand."
        My question is, a stand against what? Free markets? The basic
fundamentals of economics? The cost of this issue was barely considered,
meriting only a comment that money is "nothing that the university can't
afford when the advantages are taken into consideration." I am disappointed
to see that my tuition dollars will now be wasted on overpaying for coffee
that is priced according to the basic rules of supply and demand. Is anyone
forcing these coffee farmers from moving into higher-paying jobs? The point
of this bill essentially states that in some way it is our fault that coffee
is priced at its current level.
       If these students are so concerned that people have willingly  chosen
to continue selling their product at a cost below a "fair standard of
living," why don't we just mail them a donation? Or, better yet, a  letter
telling them we feel their pain and wish that globalization and evil
corporate empires would just go away so that life
for everyone would be improved?

 -Nick Ulrich

-----------------------------------------------------------------
       I, in turn, have responded by submitting a letter of my own to the
editors of the WSJ...
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings. The following is in response to a letter to the editor  in the
April 4th edition of the Wall Street Journal entitled, "Coffee and Sympathy,
An Anticapitalist Brew":
       As firmly as Mr. Ulrich may believe in the unbridled compassion  and
fairness of the market, his attention to the facts surrounding the Fair
Trade Coffee legislation is somewhat lacking. He states, "I am disappointed
to see that my tuition dollars will now be wasted on overpaying for coffee
that is priced according to the basic rules of supply and demand." I would
first respond by noting that the "basic" rules of supply and demand are a
bit too abstract to comfortably apply to the
complexities of the modern global economic system, but I digress.
       The bill in question was passed in good faith with a very pointed
discussion on the costs, benefits, and general philosophy regarding the
place of our Associated Student Government in taking such a stand. Indeed,
not one penny of Mr. Ulrich's tuition will go towards "overpaying" anybody.
Tuition dollars go to academic instruction and student services. Dining
halls and the like are part of 'Housing, Dining & Guest Services,' an
auxiliary agency of the University that operates
independently of the general budget (charging whatever it needs to cover
costs). While picking up his cup of Joe on the way to ECO 201 he may have to
pay $.01 or $.02  more than he'd have to otherwise... but then "supply and
demand" kicks in,  and he can choose to not buy the coffee if he so wishes.
       I suppose in this case it was the "evil" domineering government
imposing upon the will of the well-off as opposed to the "evil corporate
empires" Mr. Ulrich speaks of. He goes on to suggest we send the farmers in
developing countries a "letter telling them we feel their pain." Perhaps
when we do so Mr. Ulrich would offer to us a list of the abundant
opportunities for higher-paying work in their region... you know, since
they're so ignorant and all.
       I believe the greater tragedy is that my tuition dollars (paid to a
liberal arts institution, mind you) may go towards promoting the type of
thought that lacks any sort of social competence or compassion; the type
that stops at the wallet and neglects that there is a cold hard world out
there beyond our shores. As a representative of the students I stand behind
the decision of the student body to truly think globally, and urge Mr.
Ulrich to do a little more research in the future
before lambasting the good name of Miami University.
       More information on the legislation and on our position for
increased State funding for higher education can be found at our website:
www.muohio.edu/asg/. I thank you for your time.

 *     *     *     *     *
Don Seymour Jr.
Vice President for Student Services
Associated Student Government
Miami University
804 S. Main B
Oxford, OH 45056
(513) 664-5830 -home
(513) 529-6019 -office
(513) 470-3829 -cel
AOL IM / ICQ: D4Pres1
 http://www.muohio.edu/asg/


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