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Official Yes statement
We are calling on the University and Undeb Aber to stop selling Costa Coffee in the Students’ Union and use a Welsh coffee supplier instead, for two reasons.
Supporting Welsh businesses and our local community is very important to us as Aberystwyth students. Partnering with a local Welsh supplier over a global corporation better reflects our relationship with the community, our Welsh pride, and ensures our money stays within the local economy.
Costa Coffee is on the Palestine priority boycott list because they are owned by Coca Cola, who are complicit in the genocide in Palestine. For years, Coca Cola has had factories in illegal settlements in the West Bank, and operates in the illegally occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Profits from Costa Coffee go directly to supporting the apartheid and occupation of Palestine. Therefore, we say that partnering with Costa betrays the University’s, Union’s and students’ moral standards.
Thanks from the YES campaign
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Official No statement
We understand concerns about Costa’s parent company, but removing Costa outright would limit students’ freedom to choose what works for them. A core student value is autonomy; having the ability to make our own informed decisions, not having those decisions made for us. Our campus already offers plenty of ethical, local and alternative options for anyone who wants them without restricting others’ choices.
The proposal suggests replacing Costa with a local Welsh coffee brand, which sounds positive, but there’s no guarantee the University would actually bring in a replacement. With a Welsh coffee shop already operating next door in the Arts Centre, it may not be financially viable to run another meaning the space could simply close. That would reduce student spaces, not improve them. This vote is ultimately about protecting choice, supporting diverse needs, and keeping campus spaces open.
Voting against the resolution helps ensure everyone not just a few gets to decide for themselves.
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