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WRC continued from page 1 memories of last May’s sit-in when 31 students were arrested after demonstrating for improved campus diversity. “How many times do we have to sit-in and get arrested?” Bres low said. Sophomore political science major Laura Close, one of the most vocal protesters on the Johnson Hall steps, said the time has come for the administration to take ac tion and join the WRC. “Not one more time, not one more day,” Close said. “We don’t have to be sickened by wearing ex ploitation on our bodies.” The WRC would work to ensure that all University products li censed by companies such as Nike are produced using fair labor prac tices. Frohnmayer has said he is pre pared to sign on with the WRC pending “appropriate conditions” and final recommendations from the University Senate and Licens ing Code of Conduct Committee. In a recent Emerald guest com mentary, Frohnmayer stressed that he wants the issue to go through the proper government channels on the University, even if it takes longer than some stu dents want. However, ASUO President Wylie Chen agreed with Close that the ad ministration has waited too long. “This has been going on for more than a year,” he said. “Most importantly, students voted for this. They want it.” A ballot measure urging Frohn mayer to have the University join the WRC passed with a 75 percent majority in this year’s student election. Chen said he and many other student leaders did not enter the lobby to ensure that all protesters were not arrested at once and could continue the demonstration today. Currently, they plan to protest each day until their de mands are met. Frohnmayer “didn’t sign today ... I guess there’s going to be more,” Close told the protesters. Oregon is not the only universi ty where students are demanding the administration join the WRC. Students at Purdue University are currently on a hunger strike while they are waiting for their university to join the WRC, ac Supporters of the WRC pound on the doors of Johnson Hall during a protest Tuesday afternoon. Catharine Kendall Emerald cording to the March 31 edition of the Purdue Exponent. Students at the University of Kentucky are also protesting un fair labor practices and urging their administration to sign on with the WRC, the Kentucky Ker nel reported Tuesday. A number of universities, in cluding Brown University, New York University and Oberlin Col lege have already joined the WRC. Students at Tuesday’s rally also asked the University not to join the Fair Labor Association or other monitoring bodies that do not re lease information to the public and that conduct announced visits. Sarah Jacobson, a Human Rights Alliance member, com pared the hierarchical structure of the University to the structure of corporations using sweatshop la bor. She said that similar to retail ers that use contractors — that in turn use subcontractors, that then hire the workers — the adminis tration is disconnected from the students and their needs and de mands. “We are asking for a change of the system, not for a change in what [Frohnmayer] is saying,” Ja cobson said. The administration granted stu dents the right to sleep outside Johnson Hall in protest Tuesday night. After a rally at 10 p.m., stu dents created a makeshift camp of tents to spend the night. “This has not stopped,” Close said. “We’re not going to leave.” Emerald reporter Jeremy Lang con tributed to this article. Brown continued from page 1 In a letter to the Rhode Island school, Nike said it was not will ing to comply with the provisions oftheWRC. “If they don’t want to be moni tored by the WRC, it begs the question of ‘what do they have to hide?’” Jacobson said. Nike, which participates in the Fair Labor Association — a moni toring organization similar to the WRC — said that it ended its asso ciation with Brown’s hockey pro gram because of changes made in an existing contract. “Brown changed the ground rules of the contract midstream,” said Simon Pestridge, manager of Nike’s labor-practices department. “We don’t tend to renegotiate midstream.” Brown’s hockey contract with Nike was in its second year and was scheduled to expire in 2001. “The bottom line is we have difficulty working with the WRC because we don’t have a seat at the table,” Pestridge said Tuesday. The University Senate Rules Committee reacted to the news by changing its stance on a resolu tion that was brought before the senate at its March 8 meeting. Resolution US9900-10, which urged University President Dave Frohnmayer to enroll the Univer sity in the WRC, was originally determined to have only a minor fiscal impact, but the Rules Com mittee officially withdrew that ruling in light of Nike’s termina tion of its contract with Brown. Sen. James Schombert, Rules Committee chairman, said that the ruling was reversed because there is some fear that Nike’s con tract with the University could be jeopardized, should it join the WRC. “The indirect fiscal impact could be enormous,” he said. The senate resolution was with drawn from consideration before the committee changed its ruling because Frohnmayer’s Licensing Code of Conduct Committee vot ed unanimously in support of joining the WRC. Much confusion surrounds the similarities and differences be tween Nike’s relationships with Brown and the University, those involved in university product li censing said. Matt Dyste, University mer chandising director, said that the two situations were difficult to compare because the University’s association with Nike is much broader than the one at Brown. Frohnmayer said he would make a decision on whether the University will join the WRC fol lowing discussion of the matter in the April 12 University Senate meeting. The meeting will be in 177 Lawrence from 3 to 5 p.m. He added that the situation at Brown University “won’t affect anything we do here.” WORLD TEACHING Looking for degree holders to teach English in Taiwan for a year. • No experience necessary • No language requirement • We maximize your experience abroad Toll Free: (877) 413-8914 Kaplan Classes starting soon B 1-800-KAP-TEST | www.kaplan.com ode classifieds 346-4343 UO President Dave Frohnmayer has a Pulse. Do you have one? Check your Pulse, the Oregon Daily Emerald's entertainment section, every Thursday.
