This is absolutely bonkers.
Red Bull is the only one of the major energy drinks that tastes particularly unusual. It’s vaguely medicinal. I personally rather like it, but it’s divisive.
But all the others just taste like ordinary soda, except a bit more strongly-flavored and sweeter. Plenty of folks could certainly dislike them, but the idea that most or all college students find them actually unpalatable sounds completely unbelievable.