Back in the day when caffeine-free Coke was introduced, BYU decided to carry it. The socially awkward thing, of course, was that a person who would drink de-caf Coke had probably rationalized drinking regular Coke previously. Soon after BYU began selling caffeine-free Coke, some student wrote a letter to the editor of the Daily Universe stating (among other things), "I thought we were supposed to avoid the very appearance of evil." I remember feeling embarrassed that the Daily Universe even printed the letter.

I've not heard a talk at General Conference since the 70s or 80s informing us not to drink Coke. Today, given the prevalence of pornography and other sexually immoral issues confronted by the church membership, it seems a little quaint that anybody thought that Coke-drinking was a serious enough issue that it needed to be publicly addressed.

I agree with the BYU cashier who believed the tradition of caffeine-free Coke on campus was probably too entrenched to ever be changed. Personally, if someone offered me a glass of Coke, I would have no clue whether it was caffeinated or not. A larger issue regarding the Word of Wisdom, from my humble perspective, is sugar and meat. Sugar and meat create a LOT more problems that caffeinated soft drinks ever did.

But here's why I don't see BYU ever selling regular Coke: BYU would not know how to respond to a person who quotes Elder Featherstone about avoiding caffeinated drinks. When it comes to standards, BYU has to pretty much follow the letter of the law if the letter was spoken by a General Authority. Put another way, BYU (and the Church) is going to act in a politically-correct way if a member challenges it's policy's regarding right and wrong.