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.
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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.”
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