Some people got flowers for Valentine's Day, others got chocolates, but Penn State officials received a valentine that urged them not to break United Students Against Sweatshop's (USAS) heart by continuing a relationship with Russell Athletic.
More than 10 members of USAS organized a protest outside of Old Main Friday in response to Penn State placing Russell Athletic on probation last week.
"We are here delivering a valentine to President Graham Spanier on behalf of the 1,800 unemployed workers in Honduras," USAS member Bisi Dean (graduate-industrial relations and human resources) said.
"The love those workers show to Penn State is not mutual on the part of Penn State," Dean said.
Spanier wrote in an e-mail message last week the university made a decision to place Russell on probation several weeks ago, asking the company in a Feb. 2 letter to address issues and answer questions posed by Penn State.
He added Penn State would determine whether to continue its relationship with the apparel giant based on how the company responds to the questions.
USAS, however, doesn't believe that's enough.
The terms of the Russell's probation include following a 10-step plan laid out by the Fair Labor Association (FLA). Under the university's recommendations, Russell doesn't have to start following the guidelines immediately -- it just has to set a timeline for doing so, USAS member Julia Watkins (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said.
The FLA's plan for Russell includes encouraging other factories to hire workers previously employed by Jerzees de Honduras and releasing a public statement confirming the closure of the factory was for economic reasons and not because workers unionized, among other things. USAS thinks the university should go even further.
"Both of the independent monitoring agencies that investigated the situation found that the factory in Honduras was in fact closed because of unionizing," USAS member Chris Stevens (sophomore-anthropology) said.
Dean said by only placing the company on probation, Spanier and the university are supporting a brand that has illegally fired and blacklisted innocent workers.
Several other universities, including Rutgers University, the University of Wisconsin and Georgetown University, have recently cut their contracts with Russell in response to the situation in Honduras.
While Spanier was not in his office to accept the valentine, USAS members presented it to his secretary and read an original poem stating their feelings. They also visited the offices of Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz to recite the poem.
