Mt. A students critical of Coke face censorship

According to Gardner, university administration have confirmed the incident did happen after speaking with representatives from the Coca-Cola Company. Ron Byrne, Mount Allison’s VP of International and Student Affairs, apologized to members of the Coke Free Mount A group and told them that the corporation had spoken to the individual involved in the poster removal. Byrne was told that the individual had acted independently and not on the orders of Coke management. Byrne assured the group that their posters would not be removed in the future.

Coke Free Mount A is experiencing difficulties keeping their posters up on bulletin boards. They say many of their posters come down within days and sometimes within hours of the posters going up. Group members have had to re-poster several times.

Gardner has shared these concerns with student representatives and professors. Poster removal is supposed to be addressed in future Student Affairs Committee and Senate meetings at Mount Alison University.

The Coke Free Mount A group formed after a screening of The Coca-Cola Case by Cinema Politica Sackville earlier this year. Organizers with Cinema Politica received a letter from Coke’s lawyers threatening action if Cinema Politica screened the documentary. The legal threats did not deter Cinema Politica. The film screening network launched an international tour of the film in January 2010. In their letter to Cinema Politica, Coke’s lawyers argued that the film is defamatory and that statements made by certain people in the film violated a confidentiality agreement in a court case. The Coca-Cola Case has been one of Cinema Politica’s most popular films.