By the end of this academic year the Review plans to have all past issues digitized and available online. In an effort to create hype and suspense for this exciting project, we will be reprinting articles that illustrate the distinguished and occasionally humorous history of our paper. In this first installment we give you a story from Volume 6, Issue 1 that attempts to settle an argument that still continues to divide this country and campus...
Pop vs Soda
The 1987-1988 Editorial Board
The majority of the Review’s editorial board has decided that it will henceforth be Review policy to refer to carbonated drinks as “pop” rather than “soda.” We make this decision with the full realization that it is as much a reflection of us as if we were to mandate a policy of inclusive language and even carry it out to our sports pages. This will demonstrate that the Review is not afraid of taking sides in the great debate of our time, and far more significantly, of our university. At the University of Michigan, a world-class institution at which students congregate from East and West (and a few other places), the “pop-soda debate” often dates as far back as Summer Freshman Orientation. We understand that the mere mention of this debate brings out the most bitter East-West tensions, and we seek to settle the conflict once and for all.
While it is true that the editorial board is dominated by midwesterners, which seems natural at a midwestern university, we maintain that we are not employing a regional “When in Rome...” form of logic. While it is also true that the Review has conservative editorial policies (for this campus anyway), we are not simply bowing to tradition, as many conservatives are wont to do. This is to say that we maintain that there are logical and legitimate reasons for referring to products such as Coke and Pepsi as “pop” rather than “soda.”
Both “soda” and “pop” are etymologically derived from the two-worded name “soda-pop,” which was in frequent use in ancient times earlier this century. Somewhere along the line, “soda” went east and “pop” went west. However, if one examines the original name, it is easy to see that “pop” is the root word, while “soda” is used as an adjective, referring to the carbonation as it does in soda water- What kind of pop?-Soda pop! Therefore, it really has been “pop” all along, but for lack of any similar kinds of “pop,” we have come to realize that the “soda” adjective is unnecessary. One would not find similar rationale for using “soda,” as there are other kinds of soda, most notably baking soda. Thus, one would need an adjective to distinguish Dr. Pepper from Arm and Hammer. And using something like “pop soda” would be absolutely ridiculous and defeat the entire purpose of the debate.
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