We should welcome new neighbor Starbucks

By Simon Apter

A few years ago, when Starbucks came to my hometown of Corvallis, Ore., no one seemed to mind. Residents were pleased to have an alternative to the inconsistent and sometimes bitter brew from The Beanery, Corvallis' other coffee house. Java John's at the Rite Aid and the PhotoEspresso just weren't cutting it. With the opening of Starbucks, people no longer had to trek through downtown traffic just to get a good cup of coffee.

In New Haven, the coffee logistics are just as bad, and the addition of a Starbucks is every bit as necessary. Yet the reactions from local coffee drinkers have been much less appreciative. I see stickers on lampposts depicting the Starbucks mermaid over the words "corporate greed." I hear friends asking me to shoot them should they step into Starbucks during their remaining time at Yale. And I read articles in campus publications that pine for the good old days of 1996, when a stereotypical coffee house crowd could make non-intellectuals, non-skaters, and non-folk musicians feel like jackasses for encroaching upon their turf. While Starbucks may not fit a typical Yalie's image of a college-town coffee shop, it does not deserve the verbal beating that students and townies have unleashed upon it.

Starbucks is a capitalistic American corporation and an unusually generous one at that. Employees are treated extremely well. Part-time workers who log 20 hours a week are given full medical, dental, and opthamology benefits, in addition to full stock options once a year.

Such respectful treatment of employees is far from the norm. As a part-time employee this past summer for a different American corporation, I was a mere screw in the company's money-making machine. I was offered no benefits, and heard no talk of any stock options. When the boss asked me to pin security tags on new merchandise from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. without a break, I cracked my knuckles and earned my minimum wage. Hell, there were plenty of other 19-year-olds around town who could do my job. The corporate screwdriver could tighten and loosen me however it pleased, as long as I was productive. Starbucks employees, on the other hand, are given benefits that will enhance their lives. A Starbucks employee not only improves the company's bottom line, but also his own standard of living.

Yet there is more to Starbucks than good working relations. Alan Hilowitz, Regional Spokesperson for Starbucks, recently explained to me how the New Haven store will benefit the community. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first. Why is Starbucks taking money out of the community if it wants to improve it? I assumed Mr. Hilowitz was referring to the option many corporations offer their employees, in which they can donate a portion of their paychecks to a charitable organization.

But Starbucks' community service campaign entails much more than just checking "yes" on a paycheck stub. In addition to providing free coffee services for local organizations that help the needy, Starbucks works hard to provide educational opportunities for children. Together with the Literacy Volunteers of America, the three New Haven area stores recently held a book drive that collected 416 books for underprivileged children. Certainly an academic community like Yale cannot object to a com-pany that provides children with books. Mr. Hilowitz also explained the cor-poration's dedication to AIDS research; this can't be seen as corporate evil in a city that boasts one of the nation's preeminent AIDS research centers. Finally, Mr. Hilo-witz told me about the store's desire to get live music inside the store. "Students," he said. "We want students like you." I can't see a problem with the creation of another venue for Yale students to display their artistic talents.

So give Starbucks a break. We are all socially conscious individuals, but we can also be realistic. Pasting stickers to lampposts and yearning for pre-Starbucks days won't make the store go away, nor will it bring back the past. I can't complain about quality coffee with quality service. I can't complain about a store where I feel comfortable wearing a Nike T-shirt and Saucony running shoes. And I can't complain about generous community service campaigns. There may be valor and brilliance in an intellectual, North Beach-style coffee house, but here at Yale, we don't have one. What we do have is a generous corporation willing to serve far more than just coffee.

Simon Apter is a sophomore in Trumbull.

Back to Opinion...