Penn State President Graham Spanier is 25 cents richer now.
The members of the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and Student Labor Action Project presented a jumbo 25-cent check yesterday to Tom Poole, the associate to the president for administration, who accepted the check on behalf of the out-of-town president.
The 25-cent check was symbolic of the cost increase on each item of clothing made with sweatshop-free labor.
The presentation of the check was the culmination of the groups' activities this week. They have been promoting that Penn State apparel be made with sweatshop-free labor and urging Spanier to adopt the Designated Supplier Program (DSP).
The DSP, according to a USAS pamphlet, initiates collective bargaining of multiple universities with suppliers such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas to make sure university apparel is made with sweatshop-free practices.
A group of about 30 students gathered for the march. Most walked; some rode bikes. Some carried balloons, another carried a stereo blasting music and some carried yellow plastic baseball bats, but all united in yelling "DSP, what's that sound? Exploitation going down."
They marched down the sidewalk of Pollock Road and once they reached the front of the HUB-Robeson Center, two members held up a piñata in the shape of a quarter and asked people to take the yellow baseball bats and break it.
The first volunteer -- Daren Swain (junior-crime, law and justice) -- broke the pinata with three strokes and candy spilled to the ground.
"I don't even know what's going on," Swain said with a laugh. "I was just on my way to see my professor."
From there, they continued on to Old Main. While walking over, one group member expressed his concern about students not caring enough.
Michael Walker (junior-English and philosophy) said, "108,000 people at a football game, and 30 of them come out to get anything done."
In the lobby of Spanier's office, Poole fielded questions and comments from group members. He told them Spanier would return when his schedule permits, and the university's position about the DSP hasn't changed.
The university has said they will not take any action until the legality of the DSP has been settled.
"Can we be scheduled?" one student said.
"How can he consistently ignore us?" another said.
Poole responded that the president has a busy schedule and meets with many students.
"It's a lie," Ben Brewer (senior-Spanish) said. "Spanier is not available to students."
Doug Baldwin (senior-environmental resource management) listed a few countries where PSU sweatshop-produced apparel is made, and Poole responded that any clothing the students buy from those countries is sweatshop-produced. But Brewer argued that universities are different.
"Universities are in a unique position," Brewer said, his voice echoing in the hall. "It's up to institutions of higher learning to lead the way."
Although they did not meet with Spanier, the students said it was a success.
"We did get some attention," Megan Quinn (junior-biology) said. "We had a good turnout. We had no expectation he'd show up. Obviously, the man doesn't care."
