At this point, most of us have heard about the Starbucks Red Cup Controversy and most have an opinion on it. We asked 17 Clarkies what their thoughts were and here’s what they said.
How do you feel about the Starbucks Red Cup Controversy?
“It’s ridiculous, it’s a coffee cup it’s not supposed to represent religion. People are overreacting to absolutely nothing.” – Becca
“I think it’s dumb. Too much time is being spent talking about it.” – Lily
“It’s very ridiculous. There are so many more important things to be talked about in the world instead of a stupid cup.” – Crystal
“It’s dumb as f***. They’re not killing Christmas. They’re doing fine.” – Danielle
“I haven’t heard of anyone besides Donald Trump who cares. It’s just sensational news media blowing it out of proportion.” – Eddie
“Let’s remember the cups are still RED which is associated with Christmas. It’s not like they changed to blue or purple or anything. Let’s just all drink our coffee in peace and be happy that we don’t live in a society with bigger issues, like war, and instead of spending our time talking about seasonal coffee cups.” – Jess
“I have trouble sympathizing with the outrage because not every holiday has equal representation, like you don’t see a menorah on any cups, so to have one company change to a neutral design should not cause such a big reaction. Also, these are disposable cups that are only being used for a short period at a time, so maybe the real discussion should be about the waste they are creating.” – Lauren
“I’m technically Catholic Christian but I don’t care about things like that, I agree with Starbucks because they never had religious themed cups in the first place.” – Claire
“People should not be outraged by this decision to not use a Christmas affiliated cup, they have the freedom to choose how they choose to advertise their company. Starbucks is just advertising how they see fit, it has less to do with Christmas as celebrating the religion as it does with just the holiday season in general.” – Jake
“I think it’s stupid. They are doing the red cups so people don’t feel like their religious holiday is being excluded but people are overreacting about it.” – Arianna
“I think people are overreacting; it’s not a reason to argue. There’s more going on in the world that we need to pay attention to than a red cup.” – Alexis
“I think it is ridiculous that Christians are freaking out about a stupid cup.” – Hayley
“I feel that in reality, it’s a very minuscule matter that has been blown out of proportion due to social media, and people have the ability to easily express extreme views on either end of the spectrum due to social media. Starbucks was most likely just trying to create a way to give a festive feel without causing much tension, but as always people find a way to make the smallest things a big deal because they want everyone to hear their opinions.” – Stuart
“I think that with everything else going on in the world, there are more important things we should be focusing our attention on. The color of a cup dictating whether there is a war on Christmas is irrelevant.” – Olivia
“I feel like a lot of the criticism against it, specifically the claim that the red cup is Starbucks’ way of “getting rid of Christmas,” is over the top. It’s kind of bizarre that this issue has gotten as much publicity and attention as it has compared to the more serious and damaging issues that are also going on right now. Also, I think that a lot of red cup critics don’t realize that the more they chide the red cup controversy and/or Starbucks on social media, the more publicity Starbucks gets. There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” – Caroline
“I think it’s ridiculous. Starbucks has no obligation to accommodate any religious holiday including Christmas.” – Kaiomi
“In my opinion, the media coverage of the Red Cup Controversy is what has blown it so far out of proportion. The issue arose because of one radical Christian who started this campaign against Starbucks and it has now been placed on all Christians. I think it’s an unfair representation of the Christian faith and it should never have been an issue in the first place.” – Kelly
Should major industries have a responsibility to recognize or accommodate religious groups?
“Major corporations, or publicly traded companies do have a responsibility because they have to appeal to board members and consumers who have a large variety of religions. Private companies do not have as much of a responsibility because they are private in nature. There should be options or choices for all religions, but there do not need to be regulations on it.” – Jake
“They have to respect their customers opinions because that is important, and giving out neutral cups is the safest option. But, if they were to ever make Christmas themed cups then they would have to accommodate to other religious beliefs.” – Claire
“I think any company should account for people’s feelings, but don’t have to specifically discriminate/accommodate for one group’s demands.” – Lauren
“No. They shouldn’t have any affiliation with religious groups because it creates controversy.” – Alexis
“Organizations and corporations should be able to advertise whatever they want as long as they don’t offend anyone or stomp on religious groups, but in this case they are not stomping on a religious group.” – Hayley
“I do not believe industries or corporations in the private sector that don’t receive any government funding should be held accountable for adjusting their business models for various groups. However, I do not believe that it is economically smart for the business to not accommodate various groups as they are a large sector of the market, and by not accommodating for their wants, the company could lose a large portion of the market. To sum it up, these companies are being funded by an independent party, they have the right to appeal to whatever group they please, but by being bias they are risking losing a large portion of the market and they must be willing to be held accountable to those financial risks.” – Stuart
“I don’t think they have a responsibility to because there are so many different religions. If you accommodate one, then you leave out the others. But at the same time it’s acceptable if the owners express their religion by doing something like closing on Sundays. As long as it doesn’t impose their religion on others it is okay.” – Olivia
“I do think Starbucks and other major corporations do need to be cautious of the possible messages or meanings their ads or actions could have on the public. It’s important to be aware that even if an advertisement wasn’t intended to be offensive, it could still come off that way from a certain point of view, and not just a religious point of view.” – Caroline
“Companies should not have to accommodate religious holidays, and if they accommodate one, then they should accommodate all.” – Kaiomi
“Yes, if their function violates a specific religious belief. It gets very blurry very quickly.” – Eddie
What do you think about the Red Cup Controversy, Collegiettes?