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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2000)
Group: NU linked to sweatshops ■The university disputes the claim of the campaign, which fights poor working conditions. BY GWEN TIETGEN Members of one UNL student organization said they cringe every time they see a piece ol Husker apparel. The University of Nebraska Lincoln Anti-Sweatshop Campaign is alleging Huskei apparel is being made in sweat shops through licensed contrac tors such as Adidas, Nike and Champion. Elizabeth Goodbrake, UNL Anti-Sweatshop Campaign organizer, is leading the fight against sweatshop labor. “Sweatshops still exist,” Goodbrake said. “This is a four- to five-year campaign, and hopeful ly, through our efforts, we will see a gradual change in university policy.”' Goodbrake defines a sweat shop as a corporation with poor working conditions, such as health and safety hazards, arbi trary discipline and extreme exploitation. The University of Nebraska . joined the Fair Labor Association in July 1999. The association was established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton. Russ Svoboda, the director of UNL athletic licensing and sales, said the university worked with the Collegiate Licensing Company, in Atlanta, and all licensees are supposed to follow a code of conduct "We don’t license anyone that doesn’t adhere to a code of con duct,” Svoboda said. “Meaning that they will not perform under sweatshop conditions.” Goodbrake alleges the FLA isn’t meeting its code of conduct obligations and wants the univer sity to join the Workers Rights Consortium. The FLA keeps tabs on the entire apparel industry, including “Nike doesn’t have to answer to anybody, and that’s what we are trying to change. ”. Elizabeth Goodbrake Anti-Sweatshop Campaign organizer corporations such as Kathie Lee and Nike. The Workers Rights Consortium deals only with col legiate apparel. “The FLA doesn’t hold corpo rations such as Nike account able,” Goodbrake said. “Nike doesn’t have to answer to anybody, and that’s what we are trying to change.” The Anti-Sweatshop Campaign supports the Workers Rights Consortium because they seek to empower workers by denying corporations power, Goodbrake said. “Almost all of these corpora tions (such as Adidas, Nike and Champion) still use the same labor practices as before the Free Labor Association was created,” Goodbrake said. Goodbrake also alleges the university never formally signed a part of the FLA’s code of con duct that protects women’s rights in their factories. Without signing that section of the code of conduct, Goodbrake said, women could be subjected to weekly pregnancy tests and forced contraception. “If the (university) wants to use the Husker logo,” Goodbrake said, “they need to make the cor porations accountable and make sure workers are being treated with dignity.” The UNL Anti-Sweatshop Campaign meets every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the basement of the Culture Center. Nelson. Stenberg address farm issues BY BRIAN CARLSON With Nebraska’s farm econo my still struggling, the state’s Senate candidates outlined their views on agriculture this week. In a forum on Tuesday at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Democrat Ben Nelson and Republican Don Stenberg agreed that the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act should be amended to provide price insurance for farmers who were struggling because of low commodity prices. The Freedom to Farm Act, scheduled to last until 2002, pro vided farmers with greater plant ing flexibility in the hope that expanded markets would keep commodity prices up. But in the last three planting seasons, those prices have fallen dramatically, making it difficult for many farm ers to earn profits. Although Nelson said the free market aspects of the act should be preserved, he said he wanted to overhaul the act to provide greater protection against low prices. Under Nelson’s proposal, farmers could buy coverage simi lar to crop insurance, with the pre mium handled through public private partnerships. Farmers then would purchase coverage based on the spring mar ket price. They would set aside a limit on their crops’ yield, then be paid the higher of the spring or harvest market prices multiplied by their yield cap. Nelson also has said he would be a more effective leader on agri cultural issues because of his experience as governor, when he led several foreign trade missions and promoted agricultural prod ucts such as ethanol and biofuels. t'My opponent’s talked about it,” he said in Schuyler on Labor Day. “I've done it. That’s the differ ence.” Stenberg said that if he was elected to the Senate, he would seek a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, where he would make rebuilding the agri cultural economy his highest pri ority. Although he supports the free market premise of the Freedom to Farm Act, he said it has left farmers vulnerable to low prices. ' He said he favored a federally subsidized crop insurance pro gram to provide basic price assur ance when market prices were not profitable. “We need to fix Freedom to Farm,” he said, according to a campaign press release. “While I believe there are some good things about Freedom to Farm, such as providing greater flexibili ty in making planting decisions, its downfall is its failure to provide a price assurance mechanism in case of unreasonably low prices.” Stenberg also has said he favors expansion of foreign agri cultural trade and promotion of ethanol, biodiesel and other agri culturally based products. Reach Out brings HIV to the stage ■ I he Nebraska AlUb Project wants to start a similar group in Lincoln. BY GWEN TIETGEN Nebraska AIDS Project is tak ing the dramatic approach in the fight against AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. Reach Out, a peer education program, educates the communi ty about HIV and STDs using the ater and stories of individuals infected with the HIV virus. PatTetreault, sexuality educa tion coordinator at the University Health Center, will be holding a three-day training session Jan. 12 14. Those interested need to reg ister by the beginning of January. During the training session, individuals are educated about the HIV virus and STDs. Then, the actors memorize and perform the scripts of six individuals who are living with HIV and STDs in Nebraska, Tetreault said. Reach Out is an acronym for Responding to and Educating Adolescents Concerning Healthy Options Using Theater and is sponsored by the Nebraska AIDS Project and paid for by the Nebraska Department of Education through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The organization started in Omaha four years ago and is now trying to establish itself in Lincoln. The organization strives to eliminate myths and the lack of information available about HIV and STDs through theater. "This is not the most fun topic in the world, and usipg theater gets people more engaged in the “This is not the most fun topic in the world, and using theater gets people more engaged in the issue." Pat Tetreault sexuality education coordinator issue,” Tetreault said. Merritt Stinson, Reach Out director, said the Omaha Community Playhouse and Susan Baer-Collins, a playwright, wrote six scripts describing six dif ferent aspects of how individuals caught and are coping with the disease. tetreault said using tneater to educate people about HIV STDs, and AIDS made a more personal impact on individuals. “This makes people aware of what it’s like to deal with HIV and AIDS,” Tetreault said. Starting in October, the Reach Out organization from Omaha will be performing several shows for all UNL organizations and classes that want to be educated about the issue. On Oct. 13, an HIV and STDs awareness event will be held on UNLs East Campus. The event will provide infor mation from different organiza tions such as Urban Indian Health and the Sexuality Education Exchange. Other activities at the event include a performance by Reach Out from Omaha and entertain ment from Alias Jane, a local band, and the Dream Girls. Refreshments will be served. Those interested in helping with Reach Out in Lincoln can call Tetreault at (402) 472-7447. Bush debate tape subject of FBI query THE ASSOCIATED PRESS POMONA, Calif. - George W. Bush’s campaign said Thursday that a videotape mysteriously mailed to an A1 Gore confidant appeared to be an authentic copy of the Texas governor’s debate rehearsal. The FBI is investigating how the tape and other material may have reached the Washington office of former Rep. Tom Downey, who had been helping Gore prepare for debates. The Gore campaign immediately turned the mystery package over to the FBI after getting it Wednesday. “It appears that whoever obtained that tape did so in some sort of unethical way,” Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes told reporters. “The only people who would have had authorized access to that tape were the most senior members of our cam paign.” Hughes refused to speculate on whether the tape may have been stolen or how it may have been obtained. Bush officials said there was no evidence of a break-in, although the FBI will investigate the possibility. The tape showed Bush rehearsing with Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who played Gore in rehearsals at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, about a month ago, Hughes said. The package, which was post marked Austin, Texas, where the Bush campaign is headquartered, ■ w also included a stack of docu ments that appeared to be debate preparation materials. Hughes said she didn’t know whether the documents were authentic. "It’s less clear about that,” she said. "They appear to be Xerox copies of legitimate documents from the campaign.” Hughes said those who had legitimate access to the tapes included herself, campaign man ager Joe Allbaugh and top advisers Karl Rove and Mark McKinnon, Bush’s ad man. None of these people would have sent the material to the Gore campaign, she said. Whoever obtained the tapes, she said, is "someone outside of our campaign.” An attorney for Bush, Ben Ginsberg, reviewed the tape Thursday and concluded it was authentic, Hughes said. Asked if the campaign was compromised, Hughes said: “I certainly hope not. Mr. Downey appears to have handled it in an appropriate fashion.” Downey, who said he didn’t view much of the tape, said he would no longer work with Gore on his debate preparation. Gore, appearing Thursday on the "Late Show” with David Letterman, made his first public comments on the mystery, but did not bite at the talk show host's sug gestion it was “a dirty trick” setup by the Bush camp. Downey “did exactly the right thing, and I’m proud of him,” Gore said. WE GOT YOU COVERED P Planned Parenthood® of Lincoln 2246 ”0” Street Clinic • 441-3300 3705 South Street Clinic • 441-3333 Education & Administration * 441-3332 _www.plannedparenthood.org»www.teenwire.com Militia claims to have killed 100 Rwandans ■The increasingly potent force has been active since Congo became independent. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KINSHASA, Congo - A pro government militia said Thursday it had killed nearly 100 Rwandan soldiers and six white mercenaries in eastern Congo. The claim from the Mai-Mai militia came a day after a rebel leader declared an offensive on the militia, after the Mai-Mai group killed 15 civilians in eastern Congo. A statement from Mai-Mai leader Gen. Padiri Kalendo, read on state television, said his forces killed 93 Rwandans and six merce naries in the village of Nyanga Walikale, about 60 miles east of the eastern Congolese city of Goma. The fighting occurred Sept. 4 8, after Rwandan soldiers attacked a Mai-Mai stronghold in an attempt to capture Kalendo. The statement said hundreds of Congolese civilians were injured during the fighting and that 41 fleeing civilians were killed by Rwandan soldiers in the nearby village of Malembe. The Mai-Mai have been fight ing in eastern Congo since 1960, when Congo achieved independ ence from Belgium. They are known for their belief in magical charms they feel protect them in battle. They have become an increasingly potent force in that part of the country during the two-year civil war to unseat President Laurent Kabila. A top Congolese military com mander said government officials were in close contact with the Mai-Mai, who control a number of villages in eastern Congo from which they launch attacks on the rebels. On Wednesday, Moise Nyarugabo, a leader of the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy, the rebel group that controls much of east ern Congo, said rebel troops bat tled for five hours with the well armed Mai-Mai attackers after a truck ambush along the road to Kamanyola, 20 miles north of Uvira in South Kivu province. The Mai-Mai fighters, drawn from several tribes in eastern Congo, attacked the minibus out side Uvira on Tuesday, killing 14 passengers and wounding anoth er six, Nyarugabo said. Most roads have become too dangerous to travel in eastern Congo where the Mai-Mai often fight alongside bands of Rwandan and Burundian Hutu rebels fight ing to oust their respective gov ernments. Rwanda and Uganda back the three rebel groups that are fighting to oust Kabila. Burundi also has troops in eastern Congo in pursuit of Burundian Hutu rebels. Rwanda accuses Kabila of fail ing to rid Congo of at least 10,000 Rwandan Hutu militiamen who fled there after participating in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which at least 500,000 were slaughtered on the orders of an extremist Hutu government. SWAT member fatally shoots boy, 11, during raid THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MODESTO, Calif. Authorities said a veteran SWAT team member with a “star record” accidentally shot and killed an 11-year-old boy during' a drug raid at his parents’ home. Alberto Sepulveda, a sev enth-grader, was shot in the back Wednesday when an offi cer accidentally fired his shot gun, Police Chief Roy Wasden said. Alberto died on the floor of his bedroom. “From the preliminary investigation, all indications so far is that the shooting was acci dental,” Wasden said Thursday. David Hawn, a 21-year department veteran and a SWAT team member for more than 18 years, was placed on paid leave pending an investigation. The boy’s father, Moises Sepulveda, was arrested and booked on charges of metham phetamine trafficking. The boy’s mother and two young siblings were also home during the raid.. The Drug Enforcement Agency said the raid had been part of a nine-month investiga tion into methamphetamine trafficking and that 14 people had been arrested Wednesday during separate raids. Mike Van Winkle, a spokesman for the state Department of Justice, which has 500 drug agents and investi gators, said no veterans he spoke with could recall any other accidental shooting of children during previous drug raids. Last year, Hawn was cleared of wrongdoing for misfiring his gun into a suspect who had already killed himself during a SWAT raid. An internal investi gation concluded an attacking pitbull brushed the muzzle of Hawn’s gun as he and other offi cers were checking the suspect. “He has a star record,” his chief said. Moises Sepulveda Jr., 14, was on the top bunk bed above his brother when the SWAT team banged on the door. He said he does not know if his brother was awake when he left the room. “My father said to stay calm. Then the front door blew open and they threw out one of those smoke bombs,” the teen-ager said, pointing to the brown scorch mark left on the living room floor by the canister “My dad was cuffed, and I was cuffed, and one of them was stepping on my neck, pointing a gun down at me and told me not to move,” he said. “I heard another blast and thought it was another smoke bomb. “But it turns out they shot my brother.” All New: All Yours: All Free £ MadAdte University of Nebraska at Lincoln r. <