Students visiting one of the carry-outs on campus who crave that perfect drink may come out empty handed, but before organizing protests, consider the reasoning behind the sometimes bare shelves.

According to Daria Blachowski-Dreyer, associate director of nutrition initiatives, the University is under contract with distributors in the area that dictate what products are available.

“Take our beverage distributor for example,” Dreyer said. “We go through Coca Cola, which means 80 percent of the drinks we carry must be a Coke product, that is why you don’t see Mountain Dew on our shelves.”

The other 20 percent of beverages sold on campus are at the discretion of dining services, she said.

“We are always open to suggestions from students of new products; we have comment boxes that we take very seriously,” she said.

Some students wonder why the controversial energy drink Red Bull is not available on campus.

Dreyer pointed toward a combination of reasons for not allowing Red Bull on the shelves including contract stipulations and medical reasons.

“There have been no long-term studies related to the effects, either positive or negative, that energy drinks have on young adults,” Dreyer said. “Also, our Red Bull distributes their own product and we do not contract with them.”

Robin Bruning, a University food service coordinator in charge of purchasing, tells the story a little differently.

According to Bruning, most Mid-American Conference schools she’s dealt with sell Red Bull.

“It took me three years to get Monster and Full Throttle (energy drink) on shelves, and I have asked about Red Bull, but we probably won’t see that on campus,” Bruning said. “Honestly, it could be considered a mixer for alcohol.”

Ironically enough, there are two slush machines in Chily’s carry out with flavors such as Margarita and Strawberry Daiquiri, both popular alcoholic beverages.

“That’s a little different,” Bruning said. “We try to bring products to students that are fun, and there is no alcohol in the drink.”

Bruning said Red Bull is difficult to put on the shelves because it is not only sold in local stores, but is heavily promoted in bars.

“When I was young, the hip thing to drink was Boilermakers, which is a beer cocktail, kind of like how kids are drinking Jager Bombs now with Red Bull,” Bruning said.

Some students on campus are upset that dining services is dictating what students can and cannot buy on campus.

Sophomore Chelsea Miles is an avid Red Bull drinker and has a meal plan on campus.

“It’s ridiculous that I can’t buy Red Bull on campus, but I can walk into Black Swamp Pub and get hammered,” she said. “I am old enough to make my own mind ” a University is supposed to be a liberal [and] open-minded place where I can make my own decisions on what I want to ingest.”