Opinion

[LETTER] ‘Customers have the power to choose where to buy coffee’

Colombian students are offended by the name of the new bar on campus, Escobar. After Delta wrote an article about this, they got a lot of support. But not everyone thinks the name should be changed, as this letter to the editor by JOVD Delft (Youth Organisation for Freedom and Democracy) shows.

'JOVD Delft opposes protests against the name Escobar on the grounds that this kind of protest limits the freedom of entrepreneurs.'

Two weeks ago, Delta published a news item about members of Latitud feeling offended by the name of Espresso & Coffeebar Escobar. Latitud is a student association in Delft that represents students from Latin America. These members complained because they felt insulted by the name Escobar.


JOVD Delft (Youth Organisation for Freedom and Democracy) opposes these protests on the grounds that this kind of protest limits the freedom of entrepreneurs. In a free society like ours, customers have the power to choose where to buy coffee. People express their preferences through their actions. This principle is called ‘voting with your feet’. If the name of the bar really is as offensive as the members of Latitud claim, the free market will eventually solve their problem.


JOVD Delft feels that students from Latin America can drink coffee elsewhere instead; Escobar can remain open to students who do not feel offended; and for the entrepreneur it will be business as usual. JOVD Delft advocates a laissez-faire approach.


JOVD Delft


Also read:

Students offended by Escobar

Student starts petition against name Escobar

Editor Redactie

Do you have a question or comment about this article?

delta@tudelft.nl

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