Student activists take aim at Nike contract

Testudo got all wrapped up in the activism spirit Wednesday afternoon.

Feminism Without Borders members covered the beloved Terrapin statues in Stamp Student Union and in front of McKeldin Library with aluminum foil to protest the university’s apparel contract with Nike as part of its ongoing campaign against factory sweatshop labor.

President Mary Yanik said the aluminum foil represented “that our school’s continued licensing relationship with Nike reflects poorly on the university. It was a play on words, like a reflection.”

Workers at two of Nike’s production plants in Honduras, where some university apparel is made, did not receive a collective $2.5 million owed to them in severance pay when the factories closed in January 2009.

Students protesting the snub rallied on McKeldin Mall and in front of the student union about 1 p.m., handing out fliers and displaying signs with adaptations of the company’s slogans, such as “Just Pay It” and “Unswooshable Starts Here.”

In a letter submitted to university President Dan Mote last month, Feminism Without Borders called Nike’s actions a flagrant violation of the university’s fair labor code of conduct, which holds companies responsible for ensuring workers’ rights.

The letter detailed the steps the group is asking the administration to take, including immediately terminating the university’s Nike contract. The group asked for a response by Tuesday, but Yanik said they “heard nothing but silence” — a response that spurred Wednesday’s protest.

“The main purpose of the action was to involve other students,” said Yanik, a junior chemistry and government and politics major. “I’ve seen a general empathy on campus for workers’ rights and these sorts of justice issues.”

The protest introduced the campaign to some students who were unfamiliar with it but may have fallen short of convincing more people to get involved.

“I hadn’t even heard about it before I saw the gathering,” said junior aerospace engineering major Caitlin Marsh. “I guess it’s just out of sight out of mind, but seeing the protest at least made me think about where I stand on the issue for once.”

Feminism Without Borders has spearheaded a campaign against university apparel manufacturers that engage in sweatshop labor practices for about five years, Yanik said. It is affiliated with United Students Against Sweatshops — an international coalition of activists pushing for better working conditions.

She said she hopes the university will participate in the Designated Suppliers Program, a proposal that ensures the university will only honor contracts with factories that support workers’ rights. So far, 46 schools have endorsed the idea, including Georgetown University and the University of California system, although the program hasn’t become a reality yet.

Student pressure was instrumental in prompting the university to cut its contract with Russell Athletic last April in response to unethical labor practices that led to the closing of its Honduras factory where Terp gear had been produced.

Yanik criticized the administration’s “incredible reluctance” to change its licensing policies and said she hopes it will be more proactive in the future.

“We’ll definitely be stepping up our actions and visibility on campus,” she added. “[This issue] is not going to go away in our minds.”

The university’s director of trademark licensing Joe Ebaugh was unavailable for comment.

gulin@umdbk.com