By Craig Anderson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 26, 1998

Likins gives impromptu talk to Nike protestors

UA President Peter Likins briefly spoke with students protesting the UA's proposed deal with Nike yesterday but eluded their requests for a formal meeting.

The protesters - members of the University of Arizona chapter of Students Against Sweatshops - picketed in front of the Administration building yesterday morning and seized the opportunity to ask questions when Likins walked by.

Likins told Students Against Sweatshops co-founders Monica Wilson and James Tracy and about 10 other protesters who surrounded him on the lawn in front of the Administration building that he wanted to put terms in the UA-Nike contract that would motivate the shoe company to treat its workers better.

Still, the students were not convinced.

"We like our school and we don't want people to associate it with unfair labor practices," said Wilson, a German studies and anthropology senior.

While there's no recent proof Nike is still exploiting workers, the company refuses to allow an impartial third party to inspect its factories, neurosciences graduate student Arne Ekstrom said.

Above all, the protesters asked for a chance to meet with Likins so they could voice their concerns about the multimillion dollar deal, which would provide athletic apparel for the UA's 18 Division I sports teams.

Although he didn't refuse their request explicitly, Likins made it clear he was not interested in meeting with them at present.

"It's amazing. He'll fly to Oregon to meet with Nike, but he won't meet with us in his own office," Ekstrom said.

Likins flew to Oregon Feb. 16 to meet Nike CEO Philip Knight and discuss the company's commitment to its self-imposed code of conduct regarding factory workers.

The shoe conglomerate has been accused of allowing its predominantly female factory employees to work 12- to 16-hour days for less-than-livable wages while breathing in noxious glue fumes and other carcinogens.

Nike's code of conduct forbids its factories from mistreating workers, but protesters don't believe the company always honors its own code.

"I wasn't simply trying to make a personal assessment," Likins said of the trip. "I was trying to test Nike's ability to accept contract stipulations that they must adhere to their code of conduct."

Likins said the UA Faculty Senate and Associated Students Senate will discuss the Nike deal on Monday and March 11, respectively.

He invited the protesters to attend the meetings but said the students were not yet "part of the conversation."

Students Against Sweatshops is planning to hold another protest Saturday at McKale Center, beginning about an hour before the 11 a.m. UA-Stanford basketball game.