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12 Students Arrested at the University of Michigan!
Yesterday, 12 students at the University of Michigan occupied their president's office to demand that the university adopt the Designated Suppliers Program. At the end of the business day these 12 students were arrested for engaging in a peaceful act of civil disobedience to protest their university's refusal to support the rights of workers producing its apparel. Call and email President Coleman and demand that the university drop all charges against the students and adopt the DSP!
President Coleman (734) 764-6270
Hello, my name is ( ) and I am a ( ) from ( ). I am shocked that, instead of listening to the concerns of students, you have chosen to have them arrested. If the University of Michigan cares at all about the rights of its students, as well as the workers producing its apparel, then you must drop all charges against the students and adopt the DSP today. Thank you.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Drop all charges and listen to students!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am extremely disappointed to hear that, instead of entering into a dialogue with students engaged in a peaceful civil disobedience, the university has attempted to silence their voices through police intimidation. The University of Michigan, as one of the leading public institutions in the world, has an obligation to set an example for the rest of the university community to follow. By choosing to arrest students for taking a principled stand on an issue that, to be quite honest, the university ought to have resolved long ago, the University of Michigan is sending the message that they will stop at nothing, even if it means resorting to police intimidation, to silence the voices of its students.
I would strongly urge the University of Michigan, for its own sake, to ensure that all charges are dropped, and that there is no further action taken against any of the students in question. The community at large takes the University of Michigan's actions so far to be a direct assault on our most basic right to free speech, and will not stand idly by while the university punishes students for doing what is right.
In addition, I would urge the University of Michigan to take its own students seriously. They have been urging the University of Michigan to support workers' rights and sign on to the Designated Suppliers Program for almost two years. Your university has an obligation not just to these students but, more importantly, to the workers producing your university apparel, to support those who are struggling to better their own working conditions. Your students have presented you with an opportunity to be a leader in the struggle for workers' rights, and I would urge you to take it.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
April 04, 2007
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