Protesters meet mixed response from fans

Matt Heistand Arizona Daily Wildcat Tusconans protest capital punishment yesterday in front of The Center for Creative Photography which is featuring photographs of the Cambodian Killing Fields. None of the protesters attend the UA.

"Who do you want a deal with, Bruno Magli?" one heckler shouted at Students Against Sweatshops member Paul Boutyette, referring to the trendy Italian shoe company made famous by O.J. Simpson's murder trial.

Boutyette, a Latin American studies graduate student, seemed unperturbed by such comments.

"For every heckler, you get a supporter," said Boutyette, one of about 30 protesters who began passing out fliers and waving signs an hour before the 11 a.m. game.

James Tracy, one of the group's co-founders, said students, alumni and concerned Tucsonans came to McKale to protest the proposed multimillion-dollar deal to furnish the school's 18 Division I sports teams with Nike athletic apparel.

Saturday's protest was a step forward because people from different segments of the Tucson community were involved, in addition to the usual group of UA students, said Tracy, a media arts graduate student.

Tucsonan Mary Goldsmith, 76, said she decided to join the rally after seeing one of the 1,600 mailers protesters sent out.

Goldsmith said allowing the UA to sign a deal with Nike "would continue the status quo, which is unacceptable."

Fliers protesters distributed before the game criticized UA President Peter Likins' Feb. 16 trip to Oregon to meet Nike CEO Philip Knight.

Likins explained the purpose of his trip to protesters last week in front of the UA Administration building, saying he wanted to test Nike's willingness to accept contract stipulations forcing the company to treat factory workers according to a strict human rights code.

The protesters responded by asking Likins for a formal meeting to discuss their concerns - a request he indirectly refused.

On his way into McKale Saturday, Tucson lawyer Michael Grayson agreed with criticism of Likins' meeting with the Nike CEO.

Grayson, 53, said he was skeptical of Likins' demands that Nike agree to a code of conduct.

"For one thing, Nike probably wouldn't do it," Grayson said. "And it would turn the UA into a policing agent for activities going on in Hong Kong and Vietnam. How would you police that?"

Nike 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.

The protesters have said they think the deal with Nike would stigmatize the UA, associating it with human rights violations.

Some UA fans disagreed.

"If the UA is going to make some money off it, I don't see anything wrong," said John Kati, a 38-year-old native Tucsonan who attended Saturday's game.

The UA Faculty Senate is scheduled to discuss the Nike issue during its meeting today, in Room 146 of the James E. Rogers Law Center at 3 p.m. Tracy said protesters will attend to tell their side of the story.

Although protests haven't stopped the impending UA-Nike deal, Tracy said he thinks Students Against Sweatshops is making progress.

"We have gotten this issue into the public discourse," he said. "In October, it wasn't even an issue."