It’s no secret that college campuses run on coffee. From a quick cup to get students through a lecture to caffeine-fueled all nighters, everyone seems to have their preference when it comes to their go-to brew. Hot or iced? Iced or Cold Brew? Caffeinated or decaf? Starbucks or Dunkin’? Einstein’s or C-Store? When it comes to such controversial decisions, students have turned to a new way to get the coffee they want: activism.

Daniel Mangoubi ’18 is a math and economics major with a passion for iced coffee from Einstein’s. After working on campus throughout last summer and drinking iced coffee in the Boston heat, Mangoubi returned for the fall semester to find out that Einstein’s had stopped carrying his drink of choice.

“On the first day of classes, I walked up to Einstein’s to get my iced coffee, like I always do, and there was no iced coffee option, just cold brew,” Mangoubi described. Not only was there a sudden change in the available drinks, but the cold brew coffee was more expensive than the iced coffee, with a medium cold brew at $2.99 compared to a $2.19 iced coffee.

Einstein’s refill policy, which gives students a discount price on their second cup of tea or coffee, as well as the policy which gives students a discount price if they bring in a reusable mug, does not apply to espresso drinks or cold brew. To address these inconveniences, Mangoubi decided to take action.

“I decided I’d start a petition to try and get the iced coffee back,” Mangoubi said. Over the course of a few days, Mangoubi received over 100 signatures on his petition, with the help of his friends who spread the petition all over campus and brought it to classes. “People were pretty eager to sign it.” Written on the petition was, “We the undersigned hereby request that Einstein’s Bagels in the Shapiro Campus Center resume the sale of Ice Coffee at the same price as hot coffee.”

Then, Mangoubi brought his petition to the Usdan Dining Office. “I don’t think they were expecting this, they didn’t really know what to do with the petition.” The office took the petition and made a photocopy of it. On Oct. 11, Mangoubi received a reply from a manager at the dining office which explained that Einstein’s as a brand had decided to remove iced coffee from their sales at all locations and Sodexo did not have a say about the decision.

In reply, Mangoubi hoped to speak to Sodexo representatives about allowing iced lattes and various other drinks to be covered under the refill program. “I started a petition to lower the price of lattes, so that they would also be covered under the refill option. I think there were more signatures on that petition in total.” Again, Mangoubi’s friends helped to spread the second petition.

On Oct. 23, Mangoubi went to grab a cup of coffee from Einstein’s. Thinking that his favorite drink was not on the menu, he settled on a latte, but he was pleasantly surprised when the workers told him to order an iced coffee. He was surprised, but he wasn’t sure whether it was his petition that caused the menu change. “I like to think it was because they were scared of the latte petition, but I don’t know,” he said.

Mangoubi’s petitions had a bigger impact than he originally thought. Stan Park, the Operations Manager of Sodexo at Brandeis, said that while he did not see the petition when it was first brought to the Usdan Dining Office, it was taken into consideration by the active dining committee on campus. The committee took the petition and other negative feedback from students into account, and ultimately decided to bring iced coffee back to Einstein’s, only on the Brandeis campus. Park said that Sodexo faculty at Brandeis wants to hear student feedback in order to respond accordingly.

When it comes to something as personal as coffee, to each their own. For iced coffee lovers, Mangoubi’s hard work paid off, as fresh iced coffee will remain in the lineup of silver tanks on the back counter at Einstein’s each morning. For those with a different taste in brew, Mangoubi’s petition has helped to open the door for students to have a voice in what beverages they use to get through the daily grind.