Cornell University has announced that it will end its partnership with Starbucks when their contract is up in 2025. This decision means the college will no longer serve products from the coffee chain on campus. The decision came after three local Starbucks franchises were closed after unionizing, which sparked accusations that the major corporation was engaging in union busting. In response to these claims, Cornell students protested the presence of Starbucks on campus.

On the Ithaca College campus, the final locations serving Starbucks products closed in Fall 2019 when the campus switched from working with Sodexo food providers to operating its own dining programs. Since then, the college has hosted local businesses like Ithaca Bakery on campus and served local products like Purity Ice Cream and Gimme! Coffee. The college has shown how a university can and should support local businesses over national corporations when possible. 

Small businesses are important for the local economy and it is especially important to support them now. According to Nerdwallet, as of April 2022, 21.6% of small businesses reported that they were still feeling a large negative effect from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, only 34.6% of small businesses survive past ten years of operation. Small businesses are struggling as a result of the pandemic, and by offering local dining options at the college, this market is being supported. 

Colleges undeniably impact the communities they are in: they provide jobs and resources but also take up space, raise the population with flocks of often loud and irresponsible young people coming to town each fall and bring customers as well as stress to small businesses, infrastructure and other resources. It is clear that there are many positives and negatives that colleges bring to a community, and when possible, we should strive to do more good than harm. For this reason, it is important for colleges to take every step to support locals — and this includes local businesses.