Progressive opinion in the heart of Texas

While I was hanging out at the university today, I came upon today's Daily Texan, a pretty solid student-run daily.

There was a story in the opinion section lamenting the production of Longhorns apparel -- some of the most popular in the country, as Texas has a well-developed brand -- in sweatshops. Full text here and below:

UT’s Athletic Director Deloss Dodds once said of the University, “We’re not keeping up with the Joneses, we are the Joneses.” He’s right — there are few brands in America that are marketed as well as the severed bovine head we call our logo. A recent “Texas Monthly” article about the University of Texas machine was aptly titled “Come early. Be Loud. Cash in.” Selling merchandise is a good thing, and UT is better at it than any school in the country.

While I’ve always enjoyed walking around campus and being greeted by people wearing burnt-orange everything, it wasn’t until recently that I became cognizant of where all this apparel came from. As it turns out, the majority of UT apparel is manufactured in sweatshop conditions. While this fact in itself is troubling, more upsetting is that there has been a proposal in place for months now that would allow UT to eliminate the use of sweatshop labor in the production of its merchandise, and to date, it has not been accepted by the administration.

The initiative is called the Designated Suppliers Program, and it is a program that requires university licensees — in UT’s case, Nike — to source most University logo apparel from factories that have been determined through independent verification to be in compliance with their obligation to respect the rights of their employees. This includes the right to organize and bargain collectively and the right to be paid a living wage. To date, 44 universities have signed on to the program, including the entire University of California system, Duke University, Georgetown University and the University of Miami.

A sample cost breakdown conducted by GEAR for sports, an apparel company that markets the Champion brand, revealed how cost is distributed in the sale of a $37.99 sweatshirt at the University of Connecticut Co-op. It was revealed that only 18 cents was designated for the labor cost, which amounts to 0.047 percent of the total cost of that $37.99 sweatshirt. It should be noted that price is not dependent on what it costs to manufacture the product, but rather how much consumers are willing to pay for it. If the labor cost in the creation of merchandise were to double or even triple, the ultimate price shift the consumer would see would be non-existent or negligible. And based on sheer popularity, it’s probable that most fans would purchase a UT football jersey even if it was infested with Africanized bees, much less if it cost them a few pennies more.

The Oxfam UT Sweatshop Free Campaign has spearheaded the initiative to get President William Powers to sign on to the program. The group has been campaigning since last spring and submitted its first formal proposal to the administration in August. In a meeting with the administration last Monday, the group was told the University would not accept the proposal at that time, partly because of concerns that the program may violate antitrust laws.

Many of the schools that have refused to sign off on the agreement have had similar concerns, but these claims seem to be unsubstantiated. Donald Baker, a former assistant attorney general in charge of the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, wrote a 20-page memo concluding that the program does not interfere with antitrust law. In a follow-up letter about the memo to the Workers Rights Consortium, Baker wrote, “We continue to believe that the program, adopted in order to serve humanitarian goals rather than revenue enhancement, is consistent with the U.S. antitrust law.” I doubt that the program would pass the litmus test of 44 universities, including many that also license their apparel to Nike, if it were to lead to a lawsuit. As was said best in a press release put forth by Oxfam UT last week, “This is a moral issue and not a legal one.”

Signing on to the DSP holds no legal liabilities to the University. If Powers were to give the program his approval, it would merely mean that UT supports the program, and that when it gets implemented after all the legal processes, it will take part in providing a living wage and ensuring free association for laborers. More importantly, if the University signs on, it will set a very important precedent. Because The University of Texas sells more merchandise than any school in the nation, if we support this initiative, it will put pressure on other schools to perhaps do the same, because, alas, we are the Joneses.

Good words!

The Capitol: sun and clouds

A sunset on my time in Austin.
(With storm clouds brewing?)

UTexas: I want to study here

What an entrance to a school.

And this courtyard? What a place to snack and study. One of many spots on campus.

Take a _____ pill (bad pun)

Maybe the CFS referendum at the U of O would be less hostile if the school invested in one of these:

Texas likes football

If you pay attention to national college football rankings in the U.S., you'll know that Texas has two top-10 teams: the Longhorns here in Austin and Texas Tech down the road in Lubbock. Tech beat Texas the other week, which shook up the national ranking. It was a last-second thriller that, I must say, made me stand up and clap.

That game was in Lubbock. This is where the Longhorns play, though. Right on campus. Um, enough seats? (The school has 50,000 students, and they really love this team down here, so maybe there aren't enough!)

Oh, and everything is bigger in Texas. But apparently bigger isn't enough. Now they want to make Texas bigger-er.

Canadian student paper makes it to LBJ library?!

Yeah, that's right. I spotted this issue of the Ubyssey in the space-race exhibit at the Lyndon Johnson Library at the University of Texas. It's all about when the Soviets sent a dog to space. Apparently the nickname you see in the headline made waves.

Another town, another nice, nay, terrific person

In Austin, I met a girl named Laura. We ate enchiladas at a place called Mother's. It's at Duval and 43rd, if you're ever in the area. It was a delight.

The connection to Laura? If you've followed closely, you'll note that many of the people I have met and hung out with all know New Orleans Sean.

Sean, thanks. Laura, thanks.
America, you're welcome.

State Capitols: Texas edition

Texas loves Texas. Everything is big in Texas. Don't mess with Texas. Etc.

Sean from New Orleans told me that in Austin, the Capitol is actually bigger than that in Washington, D.C. I believe him. This one's huge.

As shown earlier, Americans love to mark their seats of government with domes to mark their seats of government.


Doesn't this shot look like sort of like that iconic image down Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C.?

More on food: IHOP is not for amateurs

I've eaten at Denny's. It's a pretty solid 24-hour joint that dots the landscape on both sides of the border. It's hard to beat their lumberjack slam. Denny's is a great place to pick up some free WiFi while you munch on some bacon, eggs, and hash browns.


Then, there is IHOP. I ate there tonight for the first time. Don't believe the hype. It's Denny's for pancake freaks. Actually, pancake Freaks. Upper case.

Case in point:

The undisputed champion of 24-hour breakfasts is Waffle House. It's not everywhere in the United States -- you won't find it in New England, most of Illinois, or the Midwest -- but Waffle House owns the American south's Interstate corridor.

Think Elgin Street Diner, but at every offramp you can find. Also, while Denny's and IHOP are all colourful with their logos, Waffle House is simple.

This one is in Birmingham, Alabama. I've only eaten at the Nashville location (er, one of the Nashville locations. There are several interchanges in the area).

Map update: 12 November

So I just got off the bus in Austin. It was an 18-hour trip across New Mexico and much of the Great State of Texas. By the way, it's just as big as it looks on the map.

Don't ever do what I just did. Somehow, the 23-hour trip from New Orleans to Chicago and the 24-hour trip from there to Denver both seemed easier to endure than today's beast of a ride.

Unfortunately, there were no real characters of note on any of today's three buses.

One woman going to Florida who didn't trust anything I said about our next destinations (that I was right every time isn't much of a boost. I just learned how to read directions as a child.). One drunk Texan who kept accosting people. A teenager coming back from Marine Corps training in San Diego. You know, same 'ol.

So that's that. Oh, and the blue on the map is sort of what I'm considering the second half of the trip, if only because I'm moving back to time-zone sanity (i.e. Eastern Standard Time).