Seriously, what the hell did I do when I was an undergrad? Besides drink, I mean.
It’s quite certain. Some of USC’s apparel’s made in sweatshops. I found out earlier tonight, when I went to my first SCALE (Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation) meeting. SCALE’s got a list of the factories that USC gets its sweatshirts from. Some of these factories are really, really gross.
Teresa presented a powerpoint for in-class presentations about sweatshop issues. SCALE’s tabling on Trousdale Parkway — the main drag that runs through USC — for the next week or so.
Both the city of LA and the state of California are members of the Workers’ Rights Consortium, which is what SCALE’s trying to get the USC admin to join.
Anti-sweatshop advocates at the UC schools have been getting arrested! That hasn’t happened at USC yet — but we’re on the semester schedule, as opposed to the UC’s quarter schedule. The possibility’s still there.
Above, David, prez of SCALE. To the right, Teresa, member of SCALE.
All college students — Be inspired :)
Siel! I went to SC too! (And protested against sweatshop bookstore apparel too.)
Comment by MacroGal — April 18, 2006 @ 4:45 pm
Really? What happened at that time? Give us some perspective!!
Comment by Siel — April 18, 2006 @ 8:46 pm
Sadly, very little happened - we were jeered at a little by passersby, but mostly we were roundly ignored. I graduated in 2002, however, and I honestly feel that there has been a definite sea change in the few years that have passed. I believe that the administration saw us as a non-threat and sadly, there weren’t enough of us at the time to truly POSE a threat to the system. I’m so happy to hear that the torch is being carried by what sounds like a much larger and more organized group!
Comment by MacroGal — April 19, 2006 @ 11:15 am
They’re certainly a passionate and committed bunch. One thing I often wonder is what tactic is most beneficial, especiall for causes such as these for which there’s broad based student support. At times, it seems the easiest way would be just passing a resolution in the student senate — which is how USC got its recycling program going. Apparantly, the admin did nothing, despite thousands of student sigs on a petition — thus the issue went to the student senate. I wonder if it’s possible to just immediately take it to the student senate to begin with –
Comment by Siel — April 23, 2006 @ 11:15 am