• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor

 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor

 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives

 Maegan Carberry

 Edward Chiao

 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants

 Maegan Carberry

 Edward Chiao

  Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily Bruin Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinions of their authors.   All submitted material must bear the author's name, address, telephone number, registration number, or affiliation with UCLA. Names will not be withheld except in extreme cases.   The Bruin complies with the Communication Board's policy prohibiting the publication of articles that perpetuate derogatory cultural or ethnic stereotypes.   When multiple authors submit material, some names may be kept on file rather than published with the material. The Bruin reserves the right to edit submitted material and to determine its placement in the paper. All submissions become the property of The Bruin. The Communications Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete procedure, contact the Publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall. Daily Bruin 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90024 (310) 825-9898

All those Bruins who can’t survive the morning – or day, for that matter – without a cup of coffee can now congratulate themselves for supporting human rights.

With help from the UCLA Environmental Coalition, UCLA Dining Services recently switched the dining hall drip coffee to a Fair Trade organic blend. Fair Trade Coffee guarantees coffee farmers a living wage, access to low-interest loans and enables them to grow their coffee in an environmentally-sustainable way.

It’s encouraging to see the university supporting such a valuable cause. Distributing Fair Trade coffee means that farmers in the mostly underdeveloped nations that cultivate coffee can now sell their product directly to the companies that dispense it, instead of going through a mediating company that keeps most of the profits.

This move comes after a switch by campus coffeehouses and also at the medical center, making UCLA one of few campuses in the nation to offer Fair Trade coffee at all three locations.

UCLA’s switch to Fair Trade should serve as an example for the rest of the nation’s universities and places of business. The more schools and workplaces that incorporate a similar policy, the less control intermediary companies have on the market, and more farmers are able to reap the benefits of their hard work.

So, next time you find yourself nodding off to sleep in class, head to the nearest coffeehouse and promote accessibility to the free market for all people.