Students voted to pass a petition supporting the exclusive sale of Fair Trade coffee in campus dining halls, Student Union Secretary Aaron Braver '07 announced in a campuswide e-mail on Saturday, Nov. 26.The petition, which resulted from months of campus lobbying by the Fair Trade Brigade, a Brandeis advocacy group, passed with a vote of 620 in favor, 259 against and 43 abstentions.

The vote throws official opinion of the Student Union behind the selling of Fair Trade coffee exclusively on campus, but Aramark, which provides nearly all of the campus's food services, makes the final decisions regarding dining hall supply.

Student Union President Jenny Feinberg '07 said Vice President of Facilities Services Mark Collins, who oversees Aramark's operations on campus, told her Aramark would make the change if students supported it. Dining Services Director Barb LaVerdiere could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Fair Trade coffee would sell for 20 cents more than coffee currently costs in Java City, Fair Trade Brigade financial liaison Lauren Abramowitz '07 said. All dining locations on campus currently offer Fair Trade coffee at the same price as regular coffee, but the switch to selling only Fair Trade would be too costly to keep the same prices.

"I am really excited that the referendum passed," Abramowitz said. "I think it's a really great statement that Brandeis is making as a community showing that we're progressive and looking to make changes in the way that global trade is run."

Advocates of Fair Trade claim importers pay impoverished coffee farmers prices that fall below production costs. Through Fair Trade, importers are required to pay competitive prices, a minimum of $1.26 per pound, according to global exchange.org.

While some consider the concept to be a humanitarian victory, others deem it economically inefficient.

Prof. Michael Coiner (ECON) said students and faculty should have a choice when choosing which coffee they consume.

"If the proposal had been to offer Fair Trade coffee as an option, I wouldn't have had any objection to it at all," Coiner said. "A student who is pinching pennies may be somewhat strained by the price increase."

But Abramowitz said Brandeis students can accommodate the change, arguing that for a student who drinks five cups of coffee a week, the change totals only another dollar spent.

"Yes, college students are strapped for cash," Abramowitz said. "But ... we go to Brandeis. We're not living on the streets. Most people have an extra dollar."

Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC) lauded the social benefits of Fair Trade.

"Fair trade is a small but significant step toward recognizing humanity and the human reality of people who pick coffee beans," Fellman said. "The difference to the Brandeis consumer is minimal, the difference to the coffee producers is huge."

Evan List '08 said while he "absolutely" supports fair trade from a moral standpoint, the economic factors persuaded him to vote against the petition. List said it is efficiency in production that allows for lower prices, and that paying farmers a higher price for the same quality coffee eliminates incentives to become more efficient.

Assaf Ben-Atar '07 said he voted to pass the petition because he thought the Fair Trade Brigade ran a convincing campaign.

"I wanted to improve the overall living conditions of coffee makers in South and Central America," Ben-Atar said.

The petition came after an extensive lobbying campaign by the Free Trade Brigade, which included forums and advertising. Brigade members tabled in the Shapiro Campus Center, and with a laptop ready, invited students to cast their vote on the spot. Still, almost a third of voters were against the petition, despite no particular campus groups mobilizing in opposition.

Feinberg said student support has convinced her to commit to the conversion to Fair Trade coffee on campus, and she thinks Brandeis is behind the trend in making the switch.

"I felt that Brandeis was missing out on part of a movement," she said. "All of the local Boston schools had converted over [to Fair Trade coffee], whereas we say that our thing is social justice. We're founded on a pillar of social justice. Can we not make a little concession to pay an extra 20 cents to pay for coffee we know will help people's lives?