The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 10, 2000 - 5
J Arizona
students
fi ght FLA
y Susan Luth
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the Students Against
Sweatshops at the University of Ari-
zona chained themselves to their
administration building yesterday
morning in protest of the university's
decision to remain affiliated with a
government-sponsored apparel indus-
try labor code that they feel is weak
nd ineffective.
"We're putting our bodies on the line
for the sake of exploited workers every-
where," said University of Arizona
junior and SAS member Lydia Lester.
Protesters formed human chains
across the four main entrances of the
building, blocking access. Three pro-
testers put U-locks across their necks
to bolt themselves to a door handle.
Bartley said at about 1:30 p.m. in Ari-
na, university and city police
ormed lines around the building,
threatening the nearly 150 students
inside with arrest. After almost two
hours, eight students were taken into
custody without incident and were
held in the Pima county jail.
The Fair Labor Association is a
White House-sponsored coalition
comprised of corporations and human
rights organizations brought together
n the wake of intense scrutiny of the
parel industry after sweatshop labor
conditions were found in Central
America factories that produced mer-
chandise for former talk show host
Kathie Lee Gifford.
The University of Arizona joined
the FLA in March 1999, as students
across the country were protestine
their administrations for joining the
organization.
That April, Arizona students stormed
nd occupied the office of their presi-
dent, Peter Linkins, for 10 days.
The activists contended that the orga-
nization's factory monitoring system was
flawed. The FLA does not have any rules
enforcing women's rights nor does it
make unannounced inspections. When it
does come to inspect a factory, it only
tours about 5 percent of the factory
before deefming it sweat-free. "The LLA
is not only flawed, it is conra v to the
mpaign against sweatshops," said Uni-
versity of Arizona graduate student Tim
Bartley. "It keeps information secret,
allows apparel companies to choose their
own monitors and bolsters corporate
power. It does nothing to empower
sweatshop workers."
The students say they feel their uni-
versity should instead associate with
the Workers Rights Consortium, a pri-
arily student-developed organization
ey believe enforces a more firm code
of conduct than the FLA.
The Arizona students claim Linkins
promised to withdraw the university's
association with the FLA by August if
cenditions did not improve.
The students said the university
failed to publicly disclose the locations
of factories producing University of
Arizona merchandise. Public disclo-
sure by August was one of the stu-
ents' demands of Linkins.
"I think ultimately (Linkins) thinks he
has the power to do whatever he wants
with the university and that's why it's
important for the community to mobi-
lize and show him he is accountable for
his actions," Bartley said.
Contrary to student opinion, Linkins
said he has fulfilled whatever promises
he has made to the SAS. In a written
statement, Linkins said his decision to
eep the university associated with the
FLA is in the best interest of world-
wide sweatshop conditions.
"After studying all of the issues to
the best of my ability and listening to
the dialogues across the country, I am
determined to do what, in my opinion,
will make the biggest difference in
eliminating sweatshops," lie said. "To
me this means remaining in the FLA."
Student activists across the nation
ave campaigned against the FLA for
e past two years because in their
view, the coalition's corporate ties
delegitimizes the organization.
University of Michigan anti-sweat-
shop activists said they endorsed the
action taken by their colleagues at the
Tucson campus. "We're proud of the
students standing up against the
administration," said LSA freshman
Matt Hannah, a member of Students
rganizing for Labor and Economic
quality, the University group fighting
against sweatshop labor.
SOLE member Scott Trudeau, an
LSA senior said he agrees. "We~don't
think being in the FLA is going to help
the workers," he said. "I don't see, and
don't think SO LE sees membership
HARPER
Continued from Page 1
high regard of Harper and I think she
will be an outstanding vice president for
student affairs"
Despite her good working and per-
sonal relationships with members of
the student body, Harper's tenure has
been marked by her actions during the
37-day occupation by the Students of
Color Coalition of the senior honorary
society Michigamua's meeting space
in the Michigan Union tower this past
winter.
During the occupation, Harper was
accused of favoring the interests of
Michigamua over the SCC and her han-
dling of the situation left some student
activists to wonder if Harper would get
the position at all.
Former Michigan Student Assembly
Vice President Andy Coulouris said ear-
lier this year that if Harper didn't get the
job, it would be because of her actions
during the SCC's occupation.
"Overall it was poorly executed," he
said.
Bollinger said Harper's performance
during the occupation was definitely a
consideration for him but he "found her
to be invariably patient, thoughtful and
sensitive to student concerns on all
sides."
Harper said she was also aware that
the Michigamua situation would be
taken into account but she did not feel
that was what decided her fate.
"I wasn't worried about taking the fall
because I believed what I did was right,"
Harper said.
More importantly, she added, she did
not have any experience with Bollinger
that would lead her to believe that he
would sacrifice another member of his
administration to take the blame for any
mistakes.
LSA senior Neftara Clark, one of
the students who occupied the tower,
said she felt the administration has not
done a good job listening to the needs
of students and Harper would have to
work hard to overcome those percep-
tions.
"She will have to work hard to
rebuild the trust and loyalty between
students and administration," she said.
Cancer drug
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Eagerly
awaited test results on a much-publicized new cancer
drug designed to stop tumors by cutting off their
blood supply indicate the medication is safe and show
promising signs it may help control the disease.<
However, the results discussed yesterday at a sym-
posium on new cancer drugs suggest that the drug
endostatin is unlikely to be the kind of across-the-
board cancer cure that many had hoped for.
The drug was tested on terminally ill cancer
patients largely to assess its safety.1
r
appears sat
No dramatic recoveries have so far been seen
among the 61 patients studied. "Some patients bene-
fitted, but many did not," said one of the chief investi-
gators, Roy Herbst, an assistant professor of medicine
at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
"These patients were very sick. Most of their tumors
are going to grow no matter what you do."
The best results were seen in a 50-year-old man with
cancer in his jaw. His tumor shrank by 62 percent in
eight weeks. A tumor in the pancreas of another
patient shrank by 19 percent after he had been taking
3k~
, promising
the drug for a year. In five other cases, the disease
remained stable, with the tumor neither progressing
nor shrinking.
Despite the lack of cures, the testing provided
some evidence the drug may cut off a tumor's blood
supply, as intended, offering hope the approach could
work better in patients who are less desperately ill.
Blood flow through the tumors became less robust
and chemicals involved in blood vessel creation dimin-
ished as patients were given increasingly higher doses
of endostatin.
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Arrigo Boito
Adapted from Shakespeare's
The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV
Sung in Italian w/English supertitles
A
Directed by Joshua Major
Conducted by Martin Katz
November 16 - 18 at 8pmi
November 19 at 2pm
Power Center
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Students $7 w/ID
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