Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
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Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
On-line edition: www.dailyemerald.com
The naked truth
s~\
After millions in donations, Nike may be left out in the cold if
the University adopts a code of conduct asking licensees to
regulate their working standards
People stripping off their clothes?
Doesn’t sound like such a terrible
idea. It’s just too bad that this is
what it takes to get the public to
look, listen and maybe even care.
On Oct. 19, we saw Human Rights Al
liance members make a public display of
taking off University apparel in an effort to
bring attention to the issue of full disclo
sure as a first step in ending sweatshop
practices. Making a code of conduct for
corporations involved is also a goal. Nike,
one of these licensees, may be in a position
to influence the University’s decision to es
tablish this code. Any undue attention to
this influence would be a great shame.
The University currently licenses its lo
gos and name on goods that may have been
made in sweatshops in Central America,
China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United
States. The HRA aims to require the
school’s 300 licensees to disclose the loca
tions of factories where licensed goods are
made. It also hopes to adopt a University
Code of Conduct that would make sure all
clothing and items licensed come from fac
tories that follow certain working stan
dards. These regulations could include a
living wage, women’s rights and child la
bor. Among the companies affected is one
that can’t help but stand out with its
swoosh symbol flashing from every direc
tion of the nation. You guessed it: Nike.
Most of us are very familiar with the
head honcho of Nike, also known as Nike
CEO Phil Knight, who has been an ex
tremely generous and loyal alumnus to our
school. Knight’s 1996 personal gift of $25
million to the University, of which nearly
$1 million went toward a presidential en
dowment and $10 million towards the
William Knight Law Center, was one of the
latest public donations ever in Pacific
Northwest history. Nike itself has a near $7
million contract with the Athletic Depart
ment. The University is one out of 11 that
have lucrative contracts with Beaverton
based Nike.
Anyone else see a problem with the
connection?
Nike’s overseas labor practices have
been under intense scrutiny more than
most corporations. According to a Septem
ber 1998 study by Global Exchange, pre
sented in a HRA brochure, Nike “just isn’t
doing it” for Indonesian shoe workers.
Whilq
the stu
says that total physi
cal requirements per month per person ap
pear to come between $33 and $35 a
month, the current base wages for Nike re
main at $25. Kind of hard to call this liv
able. So if a livable wage does become a
standard included in the possible code of
conduct, as intended, Nike may be out of
luck. But it’s difficult to see this being ac
cepted. It’s reasonable and fair to wonder if
Nike’s influence will cause hesitation in es
tablishing a code that could exclude them.
Imagine the consequences of the Uni
versity eventually denying relationships
with corporations that didn’t follow a cor
porate code of conduct that may someday
be enforced. Say that Nike fails to meet the
standards. Could we truly refuse it as a li
censee when its CEO basically built our
new law center, whose name is in our li
brary’s title and whose company so greatly
supports our Athletic Department? This
thought has to run through our minds at
least once.
When Knight first started giving the
University gifts, the public worried that
this would give his company indirect con
trol over the school. In the Nov. 7,1997, is
sue of the Emerald, Anne Strom, a graduate
student in sociology and a member of the
JPpr*”-—" Students
for Action, Labor
and Equity group ex
pressed this fear.
“When Phil Knight gave the money to
(the University), it gave him better access to
Dave Frohnmayer’s ear than students and
faculty,” she said.
That was a general comment. But here
we are two years later in a situation where
this could have significant meaning. The
phrase “conflict of interest” comes to
mind.
I definitely commend the University for
working on forming an advisory committee
that will look into a possible conduct code.
Maybe Nike won’t have any influence over
the decisions to be made, and perhaps it’s
wrong to assume that the University may
find itself somewhat bound by the money it
receives. The University may choose to
stop licensing its logo and name on materi
als made in sweatshops for good, even if it
does include Nike.
But if the University decides not to set *
strict standards for its licensees, let’s just
hope the decision was made because it was
the right thing to do and not because of fi- >
nancial benefits it may receive by doing so.
Beata Mostafavi is a columnist lor the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Her views do not necessarily represent those olthe Emerald. She
can be reached via e-mail at bmostafa@gladstone. uoregon. edu
Letters to the editor your,icke,!
Jennifer Greenough
ADFC Student Senator
i icKei swap hriaay
Students picking up tickets to
the football games and not using
them is a tremendous problem
that substantially contributes to
the dilemma of other students not
being able to obtain tickets.
On Friday, Oct. 29, from 11am -
2pm, the Athletic Department Fi
nance Committee (ADFC) will be
holding a ticket swap in the ASUO
office, Suite 4 of the EMU. Stu
dents who picked up tickets but
don’t plan to attend the game on
Saturday can drop their ticket off.
Students who didn’t get a ticket
but want one can come by and get
one that another student dropped
off on a first come, first serve basis.
Students have already paid
for these tickets in incidental
fees. Don’t let the ticket or our
money go to waste by not using
GTF problems exist
I said what I said and I mean
what I mean, nothing more, noth
ing less. That’s logic. (Through the
looking glass; Tweedledee &
Tweedledum) This letter to the ed
itor is going to cover the recent ar
guments I have seen on the topic
of GTFs and the usage of English
in these discussion sections. I am
a junior at this fine university and
have admittedly had a few GTFs
and a few discussion sections in
my time, as well as a few classes
taught solely by GTFs. Some I
have thoroughly enjoyed and
some I have had differences with. I
will also be one of the first to ad
mit that a few of the GTFs have
made me overlook the myriad of
downsides that are the University
and made my three years very
worthwhile.
Overall no matter what the
complaint is, in this situation I
have heard many times that there
are problems with the GTF pro
gram. Before writing this I asked a
friend about his current situation
and I procured the reply “he has a
talent in speaking monotone.” A
few days ago, one Vanna Nordyke
stated that she as well has noticed
problems and went about dealing
with the situation in a very mature
way (ODE Oct. 21). Now if even
one person has filed a complaint
then it needs to be addressed. Per
haps the process that teaches
GTFs how to actually teach needs
to be reviewed because that is
where the problem lies.When no
complaints are filed the upper
hands tend to become lax in most
situations.
Brian Ouellette
Political Science
Help is available
The history of abortion is the
story of a set of experiences in a
woman’s life. Each one’s story is
unique. Some seem to have little
problems, others, bigger problems.
IstWAY, as a Resource Center for
Women, is here to help women
who are experiencing some unex
pected distressing tension around
this issue. The University has pro
vided a place for thinking about
this part of life.
Terry lanora
IstWAY of Eugene
Tickets have no basis
Recently I walked by Chiles and
noticed several bicyclists had been
ticketed for locking their bicycles
to the chain flower garden barrier.
I was troubled by such an action
by the University Office of Public
Safety and decided to find out un
der what authority they ticketed
bicyclists. I asked the people be
hind the desk at public safety,
whether or not there was an ordi
nance against locking bicycles to
the chain flower garden barrier -
none of the three employees could
answer. A brochure was handed to
me that made it vividly clear that
no infraction had taken place. If
you received a ticket for locking
your bicycle to the chain flower
garden barrier in front of the busi
ness school you should petition
your fine, there is no legal basis for
Public Safety’s action. OPS
should realize that their role on
campus is “protect and serve,” not
“to tax and collect.”
Gil Burgess
Business and Administration
CORRECTION
In the story “Let's do the Time
Warp again” {ODE Pulse, Oct. 26),
Lara Wickes’ name was spelled
wrong and Jessica Obrist should
have been identified as a theater mi
nor. The Emerald regrets the error.