Parisa Bahmanyar

UNST 126K
5/28/15
Ban Soda at Portland State University
Portland State University strives to create a healthy lifestyle for students on
campus. PSUs mission statement for creating a healthy campus is to implement
programming, initiatives, and policies that will encourage healthy lifestyles by the entire
PSU community (pdx.edu). Health is a very important aspect of everyones life and it is
important to create a healthy lifestyle in such a large community like a university. It
requires education and willpower in order to do so. In order to start this movement,
students need to have minimal access to unhealthy products and this can happen with
small and simple steps. That is why soda products need to be removed from Portland
State campus buildings, making it more challenging for college students and faculty to
purchase these unhealthy beverages. This may make you wonder what defines something
as unhealthy and how do we determine what makes something unhealthy. The term
unhealthy literally means harmful to your health (dictionary.com). Soda and diet soda
products are deemed as unhealthy products due to the ingredients of these beverages.
For example, Diet Coke contains an ingredient called aspartame which is an
artificial sweetener used as a substitute for sugar (thecocoa-colacompany.com). Dr. David
Ludwig said, Overuse of artificial sweeteners may make a persons tolerance for less
sweetened foods lower (Strawbridge, Holly). This means that people who consume more
artificial sweeteners are more likely to eat foods with higher sugar content and push away
foods with less sugar.
So why should we make this move on a college campus? There are over 28,000
students that attend Portland State, each of them having access to purchase soda on
campus. By selling soda products in the vending machines and in the cafeterias on

Parisa Bahmanyar
UNST 126K
5/28/15
campus, the school is promoting poor health to students and faculty. Rather than giving
people the option to buy soda, we can provide them with healthier alternatives, especially
when they have access to healthier resources already, like the hydration stations. This
isnt about taking away a persons freedom of choice, it is about Portland State setting a
good example and creating a healthier lifestyle for students and faculty on campus. This
issue is similar to PSU banning tobacco products on campus. We all walk around campus
and see signs that say Welcome to a tobacco free campus, but when you walk through
the park blocks that definitely is not the case. But, starting in the fall of 2015 PSU will no
longer allow smoking or the use of any tobacco products on campus or in the PSU park
blocks. Stated in the Smoke & Tobacco Free Policy for Portland State, it says the policy
promotes the well-being of all PSU community members and the maintenance of a
sustainable and healthy campus environment. This same statement can be applied to the
banning of soda products as well.
In 2013, Michael Magdzik wrote for the Yale Daily News saying, Yalies
accustomed to healthier options will propagate these values in the communities where
they live and work postgraduation (Magdzik), referring to banning soda at Yale
University. Portland State has a responsibility for creating a healthy and safe environment
for students and staff. Tobacco is made up of more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which
can cause cancer. By banning the use of tobacco on campus, PSU is creating a healthier
environment for everyone, so why not do the same with banning soda? The PSU
community would benefit from this change. As I said before, this isnt about taking away
personal choice. Students and staff would still be able to purchase soda at nearby stores
like Subway and 7/11, but no longer in PSU owned buildings. If Portland State made this

Parisa Bahmanyar
UNST 126K
5/28/15
bold, progressive move to remove soda products from the campus, we can set good
examples for others and potentially lead the way for other universities in creating a
healthier lifestyle.

Parisa Bahmanyar
UNST 126K
5/28/15
WORKS CITED

1. The Coca-Cola Company. 2013. Web. 26 May 2015.

<http://productnutrition.thecoca-colacompany.com>.
2. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 26 May 2015.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unhealthy>.
3. Magdzik, Michael. "MAGDZIK: For an End to Soda at Yale." Yale Daily News.
12 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 May 2015.
<http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/02/12/magdzik-for-an-end-to-soda-atyale/>.
4. Olson, Samantha. "Soft Drink Dangers: 8 Ways Soda Negatively Affects Your
Health." Medical Daily. 22 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 May 2015.
<http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/soft-drink-dangers-8-ways-soda-negativelyaffects-your-health-319054>.
5. "Portland State Enrollment Management & Student Affairs: Healthy Campus |
Heathy Campus." Portland State Enrollment Management & Student Affairs:
Healthy Campus | Heathy Campus. Web. 26 May 2015.
<http://www.pdx.edu/healthycampus/>.
6. Strawbridge, Holly. "Artificial Sweeteners: Sugar-free, but at What Cost? Harvard Health Blog." Harvard Health Blog RSS. 16 July 2012. Web. 26 May
2015. <http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-butat-what-cost-201207165030>.
7. "What in Tobacco Smoke Is Harmful?" What in Tobacco Smoke Is Harmful? 13
Feb. 2014. Web. 28 May 2015.
<http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/questionsaboutsmoki
ngtobaccoandhealth/questions-about-smoking-tobacco-and-health-cancer-andhealth>.