Give more article space to SAS spokesmen

Your lead article on the Students Against Sweatshops sit-in ("Likins ends negotiations with activists," April 26) contains a number of gross inaccuracies and biases that are very disappointing.

The most significant error is the Wildcat's claim that "the UA will pull out of the Fair Labor Association" (FLA) if the provisions of the agreement aren't met. In his last statement before your newspaper went to press, Likins continued to use the vague words "I will seek alternative means" to achieve the goals of the agreement, instead of specifically promising to pull out of the FLA.

Nowhere, in any of his proposals, does Likins promise "to pull out" of the FLA. Without this specific promise, there is no guarantee that the standards of the agreement will ever be implemented, and this is one of the reasons the sit-in continues.

Anyone who has stopped by the sit-in could have known about Likins' continued vagueness about pulling out of the FLA by simply reading his latest proposal. This would presumably include the Wildcat's reporter, who has had ample opportunity to learn about this issue.

There are other specific problems in this article that could be pointed out - such as the claim that the protesters "introduced new demands" - but most of these errors appear for one simple reason: The Wildcat is relying on Likins for much of its information.

In this article, Likins is quoted for 132 words, but protest spokespersons are given a grand total of only 34 words. Even the headline repeats the words of President Likins.

I hope the Wildcat will do better in further reporting on the sit-in.

John Sonnett
Graduate student
Department of sociology