Written By: LaShawn Ogelsby

Coffee took center stage at the SGA’s Monday night meeting.

Taylor Scott Ratliff, junior public relations major, introduced a proposal called “Buck the Menu.” It is intended as a spring semester event with the hopes of becoming a VSU tradition.

Ratcliff created a drink at Starbucks called “The Cool Guy,” which received praise from his fellow members of Media Arts Geniuses.

“So I was like, ‘Oh! It’d be really cool if other student organizations created their own drink and had other people drink it,’” Ratliff said. “So I talked to Allison Mitchell. She’s the director for V-State dining, and she was like, ‘You know what? It’d be awesome if we had a sweepstakes.’”

Ratcliff wants the event to be enacted on Jan. 14 of next year. From Jan. 14-16, only five organizations will be chosen to participate in this.

To try to become one of the five competing participants, organizations must submit their logos to the V-State dining page to be voted on. The voting will begin after students return from the upcoming Thanksgiving break.

The organizations of the top five most-liked logos will be chosen to compete in Spring 2015. These organizations will have three days, starting Jan. 14, to come up with a drink, name their drink and give their ingredients for the drink to Starbucks. Promotion of the drinks will be from Jan. 16-19. The competing organizations will promote their drink to VSU.

Students can taste test the drinks at the cash register, but the drinks are not Starbucks drinks or endorsed by Starbucks.

“This sweepstakes will not infringe on any policy that Starbucks holds,” Ratcliff said.

On Jan. 20 the drinks will be sampled by students in the Student Union rotunda area. Only two representatives from the five organizations will be there to pass out the samples from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

The winning organization will have its drink featured at Starbucks for a month. The money made from this event will go toward a program in Valdosta. The price will be the same as a tall or grande drink, according to Ratliff.

SGA voted unanimously in favor of this proposal, so they will be co-sponsoring this event with V-State dining.