This is a copy of a letter that was sent to the Reading University student newspaper, “Spark,” on 4th January, 2003, I thought it might be of some interest to you. If anyone does want more information, or has ideas on how to take this further please e-mail me at  lbu01ns3@rdg.ac.uk.. At the moment it is just me and my friends campaigning on this, it would be great if we could get more people behind this campaign.

Dear Students

Am I a hypocrite? I stood to be elected as a Student Union Officer (Ethical and Environment Officer at the University of Reading) because I felt the student union movement embodied certain ideals. One of the ideals I felt we espoused to our good credit was equality for all, and acceptance of people of all creeds in our community. After all the National Union of Students have made “Making Equality Count,” one of the priority campaigns for our Unions this year. Why then are we not “Making Equality Count,” on our own doorstep?

Many of you will be unaware that our student bars now have their beer provided for them by Coors, through a deal with NUS Services Ltd (NUSSL). Coors is currently owned and run by the Coors family (In particular individuals like William Coors), one of the wealthiest donators to homophobic lobby groups in the United States. They provide money through their philanthropic trust, the “Castle Rock Foundation,” to groups such as the Heritage Foundation, the Free Congress Foundation, the Independence Institute, and many more (a more complete listing can be found at the Castle Rock Foundation’s web-site - www.castlerock.org). Articles published by these groups include comparisons between homosexuality and paedophilia (Free Congress Foundation), a call for homosexuals to be segregated from the American education system (Independence Institute) and an attacks on UN declarations on Women’s Rights as well as attacks on feminist groups (The Heritage Foundation). All of these groups are still being funded by the Coors family, or have been funded until very recently.

The obvious explanation for our involvement with this ultra right family could be explained away on the basis that they are only shareholders in Coors, and not directly involved with the company. This is not the case. As well as being major shareholders (According to both MediaTransparancy and the National Trial Lawyers Guild of America’s LGBT section the Coors family own 100% of the Class A voting stock in the Coors parent company) many of those who sit on the board of trustees for the Castle Rock Foundation also sit on the Board of Directors for the various Coors companies (Adolph Coors Ltd, Coors Breweries Ltd, Coors Tek, etc).

The directors who with one breath through the finely polished mechanisms of their public relations teams espouse the wonders of their equal opportunities policy within their companies are then taking their money and investing it in ways that are an insult to the very meaning of equality. And with every beer we buy from them we are giving them more money with which to fund these repressive groups with. So I ask again, am I a hypocrite? Are we all hypocrites? How can I look a fellow student in the eye in my Union bar and tell him we believe in an equal society when I know the beer I have just sold him will help contribute to making society more unequal?

I understand that these issues can be complex and I would not expect you to act without checking out the evidence for yourself. So go to any search engine on your computer and type in Coors Boycott. It is what I did five months ago, and it led me down a steady path of outrage to my current position. All the records you need to identify this family as a leading fundraiser for homophobic organisation are available in the public domain.

Whilst their funding of homophobic and ultra-right lobby groups is a travesty this is not the only poor practice they are involved with. Indeed after a lock out of Trade Unionists in September this year the Denver Area Labor Organisation accused the Coors of “Once again raising the anti-union flag.” Issues surrounding racial equality have also been alleged against William Coors by Colorado newspapers.

For anyone who wants further information feel free to e-mail me, my address is  lbu01ns3@rdg.ac.uk. I hope to have a web-site up and running soon with the information on, but I am not very computer literate, so it may take me a while.

As students we must take a stand against this homophobic, right wing corporation in our midst. I have written to many of our national officers on this, and as of yet have only received replies from two of them. There seems to be a general lack of will to tackle this serious problem from our officers. We must take action. Indeed if anyone is expected to take you or I seriously when we talk about the importance of equality it is our obligation to do so. Those of you belonging to activist groups in your University or are simply individuals who are concerned at the current state of affairs, I urge you in the strongest terms to take this further, educate yourself and lobby your own union reps. Get policy passed through your Student’s Union and get them to come out in opposition to the presence of Coors in our establishments. If we act together we can really make a difference and tackle this insidious corporation head on.

Yours Sincerely



Nick Spearing
Ethical and Environment Officer
Reading University Students’ Union