This may come down to details of their policies and how they interact and support each department. If it’s for your official work, and I’d say start with a ticket and if they resist then push it up the flag pole and don’t stop. (Assuming you’re not one,) Your PI ought to fight like hell to make sure their employees can do their jobs, and the chair fight to make sure their researchers can run their labs, and the dean much the same, but throwing heavier punches each step up. Really shouldn’t get to that point, but if you can’t do your job, rattle the cages until you can.

Gonna try to cut a line down the middle and say I’m not seeing very convincing evidence one way versus another. Lotta finger pointing and honestly getting way more intense about diet soda than I thought anyone would.

Gotta say that my family (and me until high school) drink wayyy to much diet soda. Like sugar, or aspartame it’s a bit worrying and when you drink caffeinated sweetness all day you’re probably going to feel defensive about someone saying it’s gonna kill you.

I am a bit of the mind that it may only be significantly carcinogenic at super high doses, but who knows if anyone is getting those doses either from commercial beverages or mixing it in the same proportions as sugar in their iced tea