Nike
continued from page 1
man theater arts major Katie Plein
said. “And I think if the entire
school is polled, a really large
amount would vote to sign up for
the WRC.”
Recent developments shed
light on how little was truly
known by many of the students
when they did or did not vote.
Duncan McDonald, the Universi
ty’s vice president for public af
fairs and development, attended a
Friday meeting in Chicago to dis
cuss the WRC. He returned with
reports that the WRC is an organi
zation still in its infancy and will
not even get around to monitoring
factories for a few years.
Some students said that know
ing this would have changed the
way things turned out.
“I think it would have influ
enced it a lot,” sophomore psy
chology major Chris Fick said.
“Since we only signed a one-year
contract, I think we want to go
with something that’s a little more
established. "Some students said
that other students were treading
in unfamiliar territory when they
decided to involve themselves in
the politics of business.
“I think they serve for a good
cause, but I think they should’ve
known all the facts,” senior fine
arts major Amanda Fox said.
“Even though school is school, it’s
also a business, and I don’t think
they were being very wise in their
decision.”
Brian Procter, an undeclared
sophomore, declined to cast a
vote specifically for or against the
WRC because he didn’t know
enough about it.
Several students have said that
arguments claiming the students
haven’t been represented because
of low voter turnout are simply il
logical.
“That happens in United States
elections — we vote for the presi
dent on 10 percent of the popula
tion,” said Beth Rogers, a freshman
psychology major. “If they didn’t
vote, that means they didn’t care.
Why would they now have a say
[because] we’ve lost money? That
doesn’t make sense.”
ASUO President Wylie Chen
said the WRC measure’s passage
should not be blamed on the fact
that so few students voted. He
said federal election results are
not considered invalid because of
people’s failure to vote. Consider
ing voter turnout for the ASUO
election is similar to that of state
and federal elections, he said,
people should not expect the
WRC vote to be invalidated.
Students have a right and re
sponsibility to be heard, Chen
said. “If they choose not to vote,
they lose their voice.”
The students who did express
their opinions during the elec
tions, but whose voices were not
those of the majority, conceded
that the University should follow
through with the student vote. Al
though it was not the decision
they wanted, democracy calls for
the University to listen to the will
of the students.
“I thought it was a bad idea be
cause what happened [would
happen],’’ said Jon Clements, an
undeclared sophomore. “I think
they need to stick with the stu
dent decision.”
Some say the focus on the stu
dent vote is a bit drastic. ASUO
President-elect Jay Breslow said
that scapegoating the students for
the signing of the WRC was an in
accurate placement of blame.
“The vote was one piece of a large
puzzle,” he said.
That puzzle included not only
the student vote but the Universi
ty Senate and the Licensing Code
of Conduct Committee, which
was assembled by Frohnmayer to
look at the WRC.
Frohnmayer said the student
vote did have its effect. If it had
gone the other way with students
voting against the WRC, things
might have been different.
“I am sure it would have had
some impact,” Frohnmayer said.
Frohnmayer also said that the
vote may have turned out differ
ently if the students had been giv
en a choice between the WRC and
the Fair Labor Association, anoth
er group that monitors labor con
ditions. The FLA allows industry
representation on its governing
board and practices announced
factory visits, two factors the
WRC opposes.
Questions about the future have
bubbled up along with the contro
versy, and they ask what should
be done now that there has been
so much outcry about the Univer
sity’s decision. Because the Uni
versity is signed on to the WRC
for a one-year period, that means
the process of renewal will meet
with new perceptions about the
organization.
Breslow said that issue will be
dealt with when it arises and that
he hopes the decision to sign on
to the WRC again will go through
the same channels it went
through this past year.
One student suggests not wait
ing that long.
“I think the best solution might
be that now the people are a little
bit more informed, give it another
vote,” said junior anthropology
major Steven Eller. “Give the two
sides time to campaign again,
[and] put it to a vote next week.”
At any rate, the signing onto the
WRC and the student part in the
process has certainly raised aware
ness that there are important issues
abounding during elections.
“Maybe this will improve voter
registration,” ASUO Vice Presi
dent Mitra Anoushiravani said.
“Maybe students will cast a vote
next year.”
§ CRIME
WATCH
Reported April 20 through May 1:
April 28: Theft, 1300 block West Kin
caid Street, University Bookstore
employee arrested for stealing more
than $700 worth of merchandise
April 28: Hit and Run, Driving Under
the Influence of Intoxicants, 1300
Hilyard Street, suspect struck pedes
trian, fled the scene and was later ar
rested
April 30: Criminal Mischief II, 1300
block West Kincaid Street, suspects
vandalized Alexander’s Great Falafel
cart and several bicycles in the area
Crime prevention tips of the week
from OPS Officer Bob Guse:
1. Do not leave your backpack or
laptop unattended at the library.
2. When you go to throw away your
“Congratulations, you’re preap
proved fora $36,000 credit limit”
card application, shred it first. The
“just sign here” line doesn’t know
what your signature looks like.
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