Creek Speak | Page 16

2. Copper Mountain- 142 3. Vail- 195 4. Breckenridge- 187 5. Aspen- 329 *Number of lifts1. Eldora- 11 2. Copper Mountain- 23 3. Vail- 31 4. Breckenridge- 34 5. Aspen- 43 Starbucks Cup Controversy by Alyssa Schook Please, someone tell me why it is my job as a Starbucks employee to determine the holiday season? I’m here to take the hit -- but no, wait, the whole Starbucks corporation can take it. The cup controversy from 2015 has struck again, morphing into not one but three new controversies. In case you live under a rock, I’ll recap. In 2015, Starbucks gave us the beloved Christmas cup, except there was a problem … It was red. Plain red. Baristas really take quite a hit during the winter season with long rushes and the anxious customers getting grumpy because our bars don’t pull shots quickly enough for them to get to work on time. (Let me ask a burning question: Why did you stop by Starbucks if you’re running late?) The background of the cup was that in the past years it was what Christians called “Christmas festive.” You’re probably confused as to why a cup correlates with religion. Starbucks’ vice president of design, Jeffrey Fields said, “The plain red cup is in effort to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories.” This suggests that Starbucks didn’t want to shoehorn all their customers into a religious celebration which might not apply to their beliefs (or lack thereof). I heartily concur. As much as I love making your peppermint mocha and drinking them, too, peppermint drinks do not make or break the holiday season, Christian or otherwise. This year the cup controversy struck again, but this time it’s about politics! I know, I know, you’re over hearing about politics. Just before the election, Starbucks