9
A similar response came in 1997 from Dean Smith of the University of North Carolina
after students challenged the university’s 7.1 million contract with Nike.
“Given the fact that we live in a capitalist society, we still do not want to
overlook not only what a corporation produces and its profitability but
also how it impacts the environment, touches human life and whether it
protects or undermines the dignity of the human person,” Smith Wrote.
“Certainly we will listen to any new information you may have” (Dean
Smith, 1997, p. C7).
Thus the university representatives used positive language to describe the students and
the issues they raised. The positive administration response to the student activism
became an early and enduring news frame for this story. Despite the recurrence of
protests where students occupied university buildings and staged sit-ins, national
newspapers framed this story around the idea of well informed students confronting a
challenging social issue.
Prior to the formation of the WRC, Duke lead the university world on the
sweatshop issue by adopting a code to prevent their apparel from being made in
sweatshops. Again, Wilkerson is quoted as saying:
“We’re doing it because it is the right thing to do,” said Jim Wilkerson,
Duke’s director of trademark licensing. “We cannot tolerate having the
sweat and tears of abused and exploited workers mixed with the fabric of
the products that bear our marks” (Greenhouse, 1998, p. A16).
Rick Van Brimmer, the Direrctor of Licensing at Ohio State and President of the
Association of Collegiate Licensing Administrators, which represents 160 schools,
praised this code. Wilkerson was quoted as saying the code arose from attention brought
by Students Against Sweatshops. By May of 1998, Nike agreed to end child labor, and
raise the minimum wages in its factories. Nike CEO Phil Knight said, “Independent
monitoring is a critical element of an overall system of improving labor practices”
Convention