The Progressive Student Union rallied Wednesday on Glenn Terrell Mall to protest Coca-Cola on campus.

The PSU sought to promote alternative products they want brought to WSU, said Chelsea Tremblay, PSU member and a senior political science and women’s studies major.

Members were on the mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. handing out fliers and giving out free Jones Soda, Pepsi and root beer. They asked students to sign a petition against allowing Coke to renew its contract with WSU, which ends this year.

About 150 people signed the petition, said Michael Schwartz, a PSU member and graduate student in history.

“A world-class university like WSU should not endorse companies like Coke,” he said.

Among other unethical activities, Coke is responsible for the murders of union leaders in Colombia and has severely drained water tables in places like India and Atlanta, he said. “We don’t think all Coke employees or people who drink Coke are bad, but someone else deserves the contract at WSU,” Tremblay said. WSU administration has opened bidding for other soda companies, Schwartz said.

Proposals are due Feb. 3, and WSU will select a vendor in early March, said Eric Rogers, WSU’s interim purchasing manager.

Pepsi and Jones Soda are expected to apply, Schwartz said. WSU is not the first university to have students protest Coke as a vendor, he said.

“Fifty-two other universities have kicked them off their campuses,” he said. “Some did this mid-contract.” Other schools had mass protests including sit-ins and rallies, but because WSU’s contract with Coke is ending, PSU is working within the system to make a change, Tremblay said. PSU plans to show a film about the Coca-Cola Company for students next month, Schwartz said. Depending on how WSU responds, PSU will decide how much more action to take, Tremblay said. “I think we’ve been extremely successful,” she said. “It is exciting to see so many people come out with open minds.”