Students raise red flag over Nike deal

German and anthropology senior Monica Wilson was angered by what she read in an Oct. 30 Arizona Daily Wildcat article about a proposed contract between the Nike athletic apparel company and the University of Arizona.

The multimillion-dollar contract, which is still being negotiated, would provide the UA's 18 Division I athletic teams with Nike shoes and apparel.

The article claimed Nike abused its workers overseas and also said that UA administrators would probably sign the deal anyway.

Wilson wrote a letter to the editor to protest what she perceived as a cavalier attitude toward serious human rights violations.

About the same time, media arts graduate student James Tracy read the same article, had the same reaction and wrote his own letter.

"I was really surprised that nobody was approaching this in a critical way," he said.

Wilson and Tracy didn't know it yet, but their lives were about to be drawn together to sound an alarm that would reach the ears of UA students, faculty and administration and the Tucson community.

A mutual acquaintance introduced Wilson to Tracy because of their letters, both published in the Wildcat, which carried the same message - that the UA should not sign a deal with Nike.

From there, it was a matter of getting organized.

"Monica really had more of an idea what to do," Tracy said.

Wilson had been involved in organized protests as a member of Amnesty International, a human rights organization.

At the Homecoming bonfire in November, Wilson, Tracy and a handful of friends passed out fliers bashing Nike CEO Philip Knight.

"We copied this magazine ad entitled 'Phil Knight: Child Abuser' out of a magazine," Wilson said.

Several newspapers have reported that Nike factories in developing countries employ workers as young as 13 and force them to work up to 17 hours per day for as little as 10 cents an hour.

A series of other protests followed, earning an increasing amount of student support and media attention.

The protesters in January officially became the UA chapter of Students Against Sweatshops. The group has spoken not only to Likins, but to the Associated Students and Faculty senates as well.

UA Athletic Director Jim Livengood said last fall the partnership with Nike would keep athletic department costs from competing with academic departments for gift money.

"What the university gets out of it is that in this age of scarce funding for higher education, it is very difficult to find sources of funds that don't detract from the academic side of the university," Livengood wrote in a November memo.

"What Nike gets out of it is the opportunity to provide footwear and apparel for all 18 athletic teams at a very competitive price," he added.

Likins ventured Feb. 10 to Portland, Ore., with Arizona State University President Lattie Coor to discuss working conditions for Nike's employees with company CEO Phil Knight.

Likins asked Knight for "firm guarantees" that Nike will continue to adhere to its code of conduct, and then gave athletic department officials the go-ahead to continue negotiating with Nike.

In April, the Faculty Senate created the UA Corporate Relations Committee to make recommendations about how the university deals with private corporations.

Wilson was appointed to serve on the committee, but she is skeptical about its potential effectiveness.

"I don't think it's useless, but I think it was meant as a distraction," she said.

Tracy agreed.

"The committee distracts people away from the real issue," he said. "It's saying, 'We can't do anything without doing everything.'"

Still, both Tracy and Wilson are happy about the progress they have made.

"I think just getting this into the public discourse is a big achievement," Tracy said. "It's above and beyond what I expected when I wrote the first letter."