Campus Briefs Fall 2012 Week 1

Say 'Bye' to Pepsi

Santa Clara is now selling Coca-Cola products instead of Pepsi. This past spring, the Benson Center's contract with Pepsi was coming to an end. The managers held a survey to determine students' preferences: Coca-Cola or Pepsi. 

"The majority of students voted for Coke in the survey," General Manager of Dining Services Bob Lubecky said, "so we decided to sign a contract with Coke instead of Pepsi. There wasn't even a price increase signing a contract with Coke, and overall the students seem to be much happier with the new drinks they are buying." 

Making the switch changed not only the sodas, but other drinks and juice smoothies as well. Santa Clara's Dining Services now offer Vitaminwater, Powerade, and Odwalla instead of  SoBe, Gatorade and Naked Juice. Sophomore Jesse Baker said, "I prefer the Coke products much more than the Pepsi products. Coke itself just tastes so much better than Pepsi. I also like that Odwalla includes organic ingredients in their juices and smoothies. I like to keep it as natural as possible." 

All Coca-Cola products are being sold in the Cellar Market as well as the campus bookstore. 

SCU Ranks 2nd Best in the Western Region

Santa Clara was recently ranked the second-best university in the Western Region of the United States by U.S. News and World Report. 

The ranking gave the university an overall score of 97 out of 100. Things like academic reputation, graduation rate, student retention, and student-to-faculty ratio held Santa Clara above rival schools, such as Loyola Marymount University and Gonzaga University. Half of the universities in the top 10 list are in California, and are all private schools except for Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo. 

"I am super impressed and it reassures me that I made the right choice coming here," freshman Laura Duenas said when notified of this ranking. 

Santa Clara topped the charts for retention rate of freshman with a score of 93 percent, the highest of all master's universities in the West. 

The School of Engineering's rank rose significantly from 21st to 14th in the nation. Out of 202 law schools in the nation, Santa Clara Law ranked 96th. Finally, the Leavey School of Business ranked 101 out of the 441 MBA programs surveyed. 

"Great Schools at Great Prices," a new category in the report, placed Santa Clara 12th out of 89 master's universities in the West. So walk proud, Broncos!

Coffee Tasting with Santa Cruz Roastery

This week, University Dining Services planned a series of three free coffee tastings to welcome their new coffee vendor, Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company. The coffee tastings promote Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.'s locally roasted AgroEco Coffee, which won a coffee tasting vote on campus last spring.

According to the Community Agroecology Network, AgroEco Coffee is the result of a combined effort between small-scale farmers, coffee roasters, and CAN and researchers to offer higher quality coffees and more sustainable farming practices. 

The adoption of AgroEco Coffee as one of Santa Clara's Farm to Fork Partners reflects University Dining Services continued efforts to provide sustainable products to campus. 

According to the company's website, Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co. has been roasting fair-trade coffee for over 30 years. They emphasize sustainability and social responsibility as qualities they look for in growers who provide them with coffee beans.

The last of the three coffee tastings will be held again today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Sunstream Café in the Santa Clara University Learning Commons.

From Staff Reports. Email news@thesantaclara.com.