The Wake

As any student can tell, the University of Minnesota is an active campus full of student events, construction projects and technical research. With budget cuts every year it’s hard to imagine the University being able to function properly. But outside sources are always eager to lend a hand.

Although invisible to some, corporate businesses have a large impact at the University and their influence can come in many forms. A Texas Instrument math building or a Coca-Cola student center might be possible in the future. But corporate authority is still restricted by University policy and only allowed to come as contracts, donations or sponsorships.

Of the many affiliations the University has with corporations, the contract with the Coca-Cola Company effects students the most and is the most visible.

In 1996 the University made a contract with Coke for the exclusive right to sell soda at the “U”. This means all bottled, carbonated beverages sold at the University must be Coke products.

“We are restricted to what we can sell,” said Leslie Bowman, the University Dining Services Contract Administrator. “We don’t have to sell every product they make but we are limited to their products alone.”

Each month, revenue from products sold is divided up and placed into different initiatives, which in turn helps student groups, she said. There are campus life initiatives, community outreach initiatives, athletic initiatives and many other divisions. These initiatives use the money toward their assigned groups, she said.

“Any student organization on campus can apply for a grant to use those funds for their events,” she said. “It can be for sponsorship dollars, for sponsorship products or a mixture of both.”

Donations are another way corporations affect the “U”.

One of the newest additions to the University is the Cargill Building of Microbial and Plant Genomics in St. Paul. Like many other buildings on campus this one has a title. While most buildings on campus are named after scholars and professors, this one is named after a multi-million dollar corporation.

The reason for the title comes from the donation Cargill, Incorporated made for the building’s construction. Cargill donated $10 million to the $20 million project.

Director of the Cargill Building, Ronald Phillips, said Cargill donated a significant amount of money but it doesn’t imply control of the building or any of the research coming from it.

“The University has worked over many years to clarify the rules and procedures that would identify conflicts of interest or ownership,” he said. “The title was offered to them because of their contribution.”

Student activities are another way corporations become involved in University affairs.

Corporations regularly sponsor yearly activities like Campus Kickoff Days or Homecoming. While sponsorship dollars are used to help lower the cost of University activities, and lower students’ activity fees, corporations do get benefits for their help.

The Assistant Director of Retail and Sponsorship, Lori Will, explained the different levels of benefits given to sponsors when they offer money to the “U”.

Benefits are measured in the number of eyes or “impressions” made on students. For example, sponsors who offer $3,000 will get to have their logo posted persistently enough to attract roughly 4,290,000 impressions. Someone who offers $20,000 will attract about 8,502,750 impressions.

With so much distribution it might seem like the University is trying to sell its students.

“Logos can appear in print ads, in a public service announcement at an event or in other predestinated areas but we don’t try and push these products onto the students,” said Will. “You won’t see us hocking the wares of UPS or College Pro at our stores.”

Although the University seems to have good intentions in looking for corporate help, their presence might seem commercial to students. But without their support many of the projects and activities on campus would not exist. Whether we like it or not, corporate influence is here to stay.