SLACers say college should be no sweat.
Around the country campuses are trying to "de-sweat," or limit their purchases of sweatshop material. However, this task may prove to be extremely difficult. "Ninety-five percent of all American apparel is made in sweat shops," said junior Ursula Lawrence.
Lawrence is co-chair of the Student Labor Action Coalition, an Oberlin student organization which is attempting to pass a formal proposal to end College purchasing of sweatshop apparel.
As the de-sweat movement gains momentum, colleges across the country are attempting to de-sweat their campuses. "Duke attempted to de-sweat in January. University of Wisconsin de-sweated within the past two weeks," she said.
However, reducing sweatshop apparel has not been easy. Labor organizations at both Duke University and University of Wisconsin attempted to pass sweatshop proposals which were ultimately rejected. As a reaction, students at both Duke and Wisconsin protested by occupying their administration building. This ongoing persistence caused both Duke and University of Wisconsin administrations to assent to student concerns by reducing their purchase of sweatshop apparel. Oberlin may be next in line.
Beginning next week, SLAC will begin the process of passing its formal de-sweat proposal. Lawrence plans to first have an open meeting Tuesday. The members of SLAC plan to inform members and interested students about the upcoming events of the proposal among other topics.
Sophomore Brendan Cooney, a SLAC member, is excited for the sweatshop fair labor practice issue. "I think we are heading into an exciting semester. The strategy has been to make sure college clothing, especially at universities, practice responsible purchasing practices," he said. Cooney stressed universities because of their higher level of athletic participation and therefore, increased purchasing from brand name athletic gear.
"I'm really focused on the issue of sweatshops. The people working in sweat shops are mostly our age. Any campaign to address sweat shops will involve the whole campus. I'm really glad that this community exists because it's happening in other places in the U.S. like Columbia University, University of Wisconsin and Duke. I think we've made really substantial progress," said first-year Katherine Blauvelt, SLAC member.
SLAC also plans to meet with the trustees on March 5 to inform them of the upcoming proposal. "We want to meet with them and make them aware of the proposal. Other schools have had problems because they are not backed by the trustees. We want to keep communication open," said junior Corrina Steward, co-chair of SLAC.
Last Spring SLAC was able to pass a similar, but smaller, proposal by Senate which requested that the Athletic Department stop purchasing athletic material and gear from Nike Corporation.
Nike is just one of many corporations that uses sweatshop labor. "The Game is officially licensed as a College product for uniforms which are made in the Dominican Republic. Converse uses sweatshops in Taiwan. Oberlin basketball jackets are made by Converse," said Lawrence.
This first proposal was agreed upon by former athletic director Don Hunsinger and the athletic department. "That was our first accomplishment to a bigger project," said Lawrence. "The College needs to make sure that companies they are buying clothes from are not bought in sweatshops."
SLAC now feels ready to take the next step. As well as meeting with Athletic Director Mike Muska and Assistant to the President Diana Roose, SLAC must overcome the upcoming obstacles of passing this next proposal. "We are putting the proposal past Senate, various committees, General Faculty and then Dye," said Lawrence. But despite these obstacles SLAC remains determined to see its proposal through.
"It forces the College to look long and hard about what they're purchasing," said Lawrence.
Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 127, Number 15, February 26, 1999
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