Early last week Brandeis decided to lay off one of its employees for violating university policy by selling a restricted beverage to a Brandeis student. The name of the employee has been kept confidential;
however, the actions set a precedent for future C-store policies, declared store manager Jeff Wood. Around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, the clerk was caught selling a foreign substance not normally sold at the C-store.
Apparently the clerk had brought a backpack and informed several students near the end of the first semester about the foreign substances being available in the C-Store during certain hours. Brandeis immediately took action and fired the employee for this wrongdoing. The buyer, a student, was heavily warned for his actions but given a seemingly light punishment. The administration was mainly concerned with the corruption of the employer rather than the students actions, dismissing them as, only the natural thing to do if you are in college.
The first sign of something fishy was when the buyer approached the cashier without any items to purchase. After a short exchange, the clerk reportedly dug into his backpack to pass the drink quickly to the buyer, said onlooker Adolf Shapiro. Other eyewitnesses claim that the clerk asked if the student would pay with regular cash rather than the standard points or WhoCash. The student obliged willingly, saying, Tonight is going to be a difficult night for me to get through without this, and I dont know where else I could buy it this quickly.
The substance had been easily identified by an honest student for its distinct shape and shiny body. Many students candidly claimed to have had the drink themselves (especially as a mixer), in the past few months, but had not purchased it at the C-Store.
When the employee was questioned after his gaffe, he protested his rapid dismissal. Its not like the beverages were illegal. I mean, I see plenty of college students with them every day. I just wanted to give the kid wings, proclaimed the man. The man also claimed that he wanted to help boost student performance, concentration, and reaction speed, and allow them to study for their mid-terms late into the night. He claimed that while the drink might be looked down upon by many and was most likely unhealthy, it had helped him through his vigorous night classes.
Coca-Cola was ashamed of the situation, and promised that all beverages being sold in the future would only be of their own products. Frank Ball of Coca Cola publicly stated, Im glad that no other beverages got out before they were caught. We intend that Brandeis will not have any further problems in regards to non-Coca Cola products.
A friend of the purchaser spoke frankly in defense of his buddy, He just cant live without that stuff. Its an expensive problem hes had for years. Hed do anything to purchase it, and since Brandeis cant sell it to him legally, he had to take these extreme measures. Sure, it mightve been a little more expensive than he could have bought it for, but thats the point of the C-store, so things can be bought quickly.
The man left relatively quickly after his initial protests, while the remaining Red Bull beverages have since been confiscated by other hard working employees. After a somewhat brief student outcry by fellow users, Brandeis dismissed these protests with full throttle.
