Full public disclosure is needed from UO’s licensees
One month ago, the Human
Rights Alliance offered a deadline
of Nov. 17 for the University to re
quire full public disclosure from
its licensees. Since the time of that
demand, the HRA has gained sup
port from the community and stu
dent groups, faculty and students
and received endorsement for this
deadline from the ASUO Student
Senate.
The past month has proven that
full disclosure is an issue that con
cerns a much broader constituent
group than the HRA alone. More
over, it suggests that when the ad
ministration refuses to acknowl
edge such widespread concerns, it
is no longer serving the University
community. Vice President for
Public Affairs and Development
Duncan McDonald states that the
administration is seeking advice
from a “diverse and representative
F
community.” What, if not the
community and student groups
currently supporting full disclo
sure, constitutes a sufficiently di
verse and representative commu
nity for the administration to
listen to?
The administration has tried to
sidestep this deadline by asserting
that, while they support full dis
closure, they do not have the pow
er to make this decision. Despite
excuses to the contrary, the com
mittee is not a decision-making
body. All decision making power
rests solely with University Presi
dent Dave Frohnmayer. The ad
ministration uses its power in
some cases but pretends when it is
challenged that it does not have
that power. McDonald exercised
the power to appoint faculty to the
committee (rather than relying on
appointments from the Universi
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NOTEBOOK
ty Senate, as is the usual proce
dure.) He again exercised his pow
er when he requested disclosure
from Nike after the company of
fered decisions, and it is an empty
excuse for them to pretend they
don’t have that power.
The HRA believes that the advi
sory committee will serve an im
portant role in researching stan
dards, consortia, opportunities for
pilot projects and available re
sources of the University to con
tribute to research projects related
to international labor standards
and licensing. However, the advi
sory committee must work from
an informed basis — the HRA as
serts that disclosure information
will provide that basis.
Public disclosure is the first
necessary step in establishing a li
censing code of conduct. The ap
parel industry is notorious for pre
serving the secrecy of the student
anti-sweatshop movement and it
is only within the past several
months that — by the pressure of
the student anti-sweatshop move
ment — that factory locations
have been released. The grudging
response of apparel companies to
contractual demands for full dis
closure made by universities
across the country has proven that
a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is in
full effect. Unless we demand full
disclosure of our licensees, we are
not going to receive it.
The administration has demon
strated that process and neutrali
ty remain their priority, creating a
time line that does not reflect the
urgency of sweatshop conditions.
Martin Luther King Jr. said that
“[time] can be used constructively
or destructively... We must use
time creatively, in the knowledge
that the time is always ripe to do
right.” The alliance is disappoint
ed that McDonald and Frohnmay
er have not yet required full dis
closure. Instead of accusing the
HRA of marching to a “drumbeat”
that is inaccurate, we hope that the
administration will adopt a pace
that reflects the concerns of this
community and the priority of ad
dressing sweatshop conditions
from an informed basis.
Sarah Jacobson is a member of the Human Rights
Alliance. Her views do not necessarily represent
those of the paper.
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