ISA bash to honor history
■ The reception will
reopen the International
Lounge, which is now
handicap-accessible
By Lisa Toth
Oregon Daily Emerald
The elevator construction in
the EMU is finally completed,
and the International Student
Association has a cause to cele
brate.
The ISA will host its Winter
Reception tonight at 7 p.m. in
the recently reopened, handi
cap-accessible international
Lounge.
But the new elevator is not
the only reason the ISA will cel
ebrate this year. The theme of
this year’s event, “Continuity,”
will recognize the rich and di
verse history of international
studies on the University cam
pus, the reopening of the Inter
national Lounge and future
projects involving the interna
tional community.
Co-director Haya Matsumoto,
a senior and fine arts major, said
the reception will offer students
and faculty insight about the
richness of the ISA’s history on
campus.
The evening will offer an in
formational question-and-an
swer session where people who
are involved with the organiza
tion will share their experiences.
One of the highlighted pre
senters is Ruth Ellsworth. ISA
office manager and sophomore
pre-journalism major Ying-Che
Chen described Ellsworth as the
acting “mother” for the students
involved in the ISA. She has
been working in conjunction
with the ISA for six years. Dur
ing this time she has seen stu
dents come and go from the
University and has taken care of
them as if they were her own
children.
“Students look for support here,
especially because as internation
al students we are so far away
from home. We appreciate the
support she gives us,” Chen said.
Last year’s reception co-direc
tor Viviane Forny is the second
scheduled presenter. Chen said
Fomy will reflect on how inter
national students are involved
on campus, what they are doing
well and what still needs im
provement.
The final presenter is Vir
ginia Stark, who serves as the
assistant director of the Office
of International Education
and Exchange. She is involved
in the admissions process of
international students to the
University.
Another feature of the winter
Event information
What: The Internationa! Student
Association Winter Reception
Where: The International Lounge
in the EMU
When: Tonight at 7 p.m.
reception is an exhibition in
cluding a detailed history of the
38 years the ISA has been a part
of the University campus. The
exhibition will include video
tapes of previous events like the
1997 Asian Crisis panel and last
year’s International Night. There
will be newspaper clips dating
back to 1967 from the Emerald,
The Register-Guard and The
Oregonian regarding the ISA.
There will be video inter
views available from three peo
ple who have affected the ISA.
In the video interviews, EMU
Director Dusty Miller will ex
plain the history of the use of
the International Lounge. Tom
Mills, director of the OIEE, will
share his 20 years of experience
with the 120 guests expected in
attendance at this free invita
tional reception. Peter Briggs,
director of international recruit
ment and previous OIEE advis
er, has worked for 10 years with
the OIEE and the ISA.
Strike
continued from page 1A
plant for seven years before the
strike was officially declared on
July 15 of last year. She noticed
immediately the conditions at
the plant were not right.
“We didn’t have any leverage
when we first started working,”
Lara said through an interpreter.
One of six children, Lara began
working when she was 13 to help
support her family. The plant is
one of two factories in the small
community about 250 miles
north of Mexico City. The plant
packages frozen fruit, mostly
strawberries, which is then
trucked to the United States for
distribution.
To get the harvested fruit ready
to freeze is tedious work. Workers
must stand peeling and coring
fruits the entire day, Lara said.
There are no regular breaks
and requested bathroom breaks are
timed and supervised. If a worker
stays in the bathroom too long a su
pervisor comes in and retrieves him
or her. Women make up 90 percent
of the workers.
Members of the community
rely on the meager income they
receive working up to 15 hours
per day. Workers receive about 25
cents per box of fruit they fill.
The boxes each weigh about 17.5
pounds, and Lara said on a good
day she filled 30-35 boxes, which
translates to about $7.50 to $8.75
per day.
The minimum wage in the region
where the plant is located is 32.7
pesos per day, about $3.50. Arthur
Price, the plant’s owner, said in agri
cultural areas there is a lower cost of
living so the wages are fair.
"They need more than mini
mum wage; we pay multiples of
minimum wage,” he said. Work
ers are also paid the average wage
from the six days they work on
the seventh day, and they have a
pension plan, Price said.
But wages aren’t the only thing
strikers are fighting for. Because
the work involves knives, workers
often cut themselves peeling fruit.
Lara said there are no first-aid kits
on-site. The floors of the plant are
slippery from fruit juice, and the
fruit acid bums their skin. Work
ers often slip and are forced to
continue working with sprains
and bmises.
Price said the allegations are
completely false. He said a doctor
goes to the plant a few times a
week and first-aid materials are
available in the production area.
Mexican law dictates that workers
must have access to medical care,
and Price said he goes beyond
what he is required to do by law.
Workers at the CRISA contact
ed the Authentic Labor Front
(FAT), the largest independent
industrial union in Mexico, be
cause they wanted to organize a
plan. Some workers and FAT
Turn to Strike, page 7A
Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO)
Executive Endorsements
The ASUO Executive has officially endorsed all 8 ballot measures in today’s election. We are
confident that passing the following ballot measures will be in the best interests of the
students at the University of Oregon. Please refer to the voters’ guide for specific wording
Measure #1IISSA
Y This ballot measure would continue the ASUO’s membership in the United
' States Student Association (USSA) for $1.00 per student per term. USSAis
-1 a the nation’s oldest and largest national student organization and it is the
4/pQAs! only recognized voice of students in Congress, the White House, and the
f Department of Education. USSA advocates for the needs of students,
working to improve educational access through increases in federal financial aid,
recruitment and retention of traditionally underrepresented students, campus safety,
child care, and equal opportunity. USSA also works to organize students on their own
campuses around all sorts of issues, like free speech, labor rights, and diversity. USSA
is fighting for the future of students. A vote for the USSA Referendum ballot measure
is a vote for your future!
Measure #2 Grievances
f This ballot measure will enable a more efficient and effective grievance
procedure than has existed in the past.
Measure #3 Designated Driver Shuttle Van
f This ballot measure will allow the Designated Driver Shuttle (DDS) to
purchase a new van with the resources it needs to expand.
Measure #4 Workers’ Rights Consortium:
P This ballot measure would make a formal request of the University to adopt
the code of, and join with, the Worker’s Rights Consortium. The Worker
- a Rights Consortium (WRC) was developed by the United Students Against
Sweatshops (USAS) in consultation with workers and human rights
/ groups. WRC is a monitoring group that consists of a network of human
rights and labor groups all over the world. WRC has a system of verifying and
inspecting conditions in factories that produce apparel for colleges and universities;
this system will force information regarding industry practices out into the light of
day and pressure corporations to improve conditions in factories producing their
goods.
Measure #5 International Resource Center
nf This ballot measure will allot incidental fees to the establishment of an
International Resource Center in the International Student Lounge in the
» EMU. These funds would enable the Office of International Education and
Exchange to purchase books, periodicals, and the necessary supplies to
• create a space for cross-cultural exchange. The center will be a space for
students to meet and discuss international views and cultural experiences, practice
languages, and find information about traveling, working, and living abroad. The
International Resource Center will be a valuable resource for all students at the
University, 10 percent of whom are international students, and 14 percent of whom
study abroad at some point during their college careers.
Measure #6 ASUO Constitution Changes
ueb
f This measure will ensure that the ASUO Green Tape Notebook is
consistent with the Clark Document. The Green Tape and the Clark
I Document are separate, but they both regulate the ASUO and it is
important that they are consistent.
Measure #7 Designated Driver Shuttle Program
Increase
This ballot measure would provide DDS with enough funds to run more
than
one van during peak weekday and weekend shifts.
Measure #8 LTD
This ballot measure would continue incidental fee support of the unlimited
bus service that is available to all students through the LTD bus service.
i aiu iui uy me muu t,Accutive Fundraising
Wylie Chen, President
Associated Students of the University of
1228 University of Oregon, Erb Memorial Union, Suite 4, Eugene, Oregon 97403
Phone: 541.346.0624, Fax: 541.346.0620, http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuo