Students Protest Harvard Sweatshop Policy

Brightly colored balloons livened up the Science Center's drab exterior yesterday, as students protested against what they called Harvard's inadequate response to sweatshop regulation.

About 30 students protested Harvard's membership in the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a consortium founded by companies like Nike and L.L. Bean to monitor working conditions in foreign apparel factories.

The students, members of Harvard Students Against Sweatshops (HSAS) criticized the FLA because it is run by the companies it is meant to oversee.

"The FLA has a lot of problems," said Erik A. Beach '02, an HSAS member. "The FLA is a group run by the companies themselves, and they have a cursory style of monitoring."

Instead, HSAS asked Harvard to join the Worker's Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent group run by labor and human rights organizations.

The rally began outside of the Science Center where HSAS members asked passersby to sign balloons urging Harvard to leave the FLA and improve the monitoring of the factories that produce Harvard apparel.

Protestors hawked their balloons among the chaotic mix of students rushing to class and the vociferous vendors of Yale-bashing T-shirts.

"I wanted to help out a cause which I know people I trust are involved in," said Joshua E. Goldston '01, one of the about 150 people to sign a balloon.

HSAS member Benjamin L. McKean '02 was pleased with the supportive crowd.

"I thought it went very well. We went through so many balloons we had to run out and buy more," said McKean, who is also a Crimson editor.

After about 20 minutes of balloon signing, 30 HSAS members, supporters and curious students walked to Mass. Hall carrying the balloons and signs, chanting "Hey hey, ho ho, Harvard sweatshops have got to go."

"I felt like they could use a little volume," said Emily J. Carmichael '04 an onlooker and Crimson cartoonist who decided to lend her voice to the chants.

When they reached Mass. Hall, the crowd was met by a Harvard police officer who told the demonstrators that taping balloons to the building was an arrestable offense.

When some students continued to tape balloons to the building, the officer took the balloons down and asked for one persistent protestor's student ID.

The crowd was then told to leave the steps of Mass. Hall and proceeded to decorate the stakes that encompass the lawn.

Beach was pleased with the event, and confident about the eventual success of the protests.

"We think we've presented a strong case for joining the WRC," he said. "We anticipate Harvard joining, hopefully by the end of this semester."

This is not a sentiment, however, that seems to be shared by Harvard.

University attorney Allan A. Ryan said "there are no plans to change groups.... We are in to stay with the FLA."

Ryan did express concerns with the factory monitoring practices used by FLA, which include announcing where and when factory inspections will occur, and the single board seat given to the 150 colleges that are members of the FLA.

Yet he did not feel that these concerns were sufficient to switch to the WRC.

"The FLA offers a broad range of businesses and human rights groups," Ryan said. "The WRC is still a work in progress. It is not at this point a good fit for us."