For anyone in the Ann Arbor area, we will be having a forum explaining exactly what students were asking for and why they refused to leave, so please come and bring questions. It will be Monday 8pm in the Kalamazoo Room of the Michigan League.

Thanks!

In solidarity,
Leigh

That is exactly what our Sustainable Campuses project is all about - bringing together the issues to not only build human resources but more importantly, to learn about the connections between all of the economic, social and environmental sustainability issues linked to the operations, culture, and curriculum of each university or college campus.

There are many ethical purchasing policies out there for all those interested in pursuing “anti-sweatshop” campaigns; essentially you want your campus administration to commit to ethical purchasing practices that consider the well-being of people as well as the natural environment. This can affect all purchases such as clothes, paper, technology, office equipment, machinery, etc.

The possibilities are endless and there are many ways to go about it -

Yochi - it would be interesting to know the history of this group; it is clear that the group has been working on the issue for quite some time. What road blocks did you come up against? What strategies were tried? What meetings did you have and which were successful and which were unsuccessful? Which allies on campus did you have?

Anyways - glad to see the posts on IGHIH rounding out to inclusive sustainability issues!

Take care all,
Zoë

My first reaction is to ask: were environmental groups there? Either sitting in or rallying outside?

What’s brewing at UCB now is a coalition of progressive groups uniting their struggles under one umbrella, recognizing the commonalities between each effort and that in acting together, they are stronger. It includes Students Organizing for Justice in the Americas -which housed the sweatfree campaign and is aligned with campus unions fighting for a living wage and fair contract, Stop BP-Berkeley -which is opposing a deal with the oil company, Save the Oaks -which is operating a sit-in to protect a historic landmark, Stop the War Coalition, National Organization for Women, Students for Social Change and more.

The point? I envision more campuses doing this: different groups making the links and working together in an organized way -especially between environmental, labor, and social justice groups. For example, combining the climate and peace groups with recognition that oil is the common factor.

I hope that labor groups and environmental groups see each other as allies and act in solidarity with one another. Just jobs are part and parcel of a sustainable economy.

Long live student power!