A group of 15 Purdue University student protesters are left with growling stomachs as they remain in a standoff trying to convince university officials that the school's bookstore should not purchase merchandise produced in sweatshops.
The protesters began a hunger strike on Nov. 17 to protest the selling of clothes at the university's bookstore, Purdue graduate student Nathan Jun, who is a protester, said.
The protesters are not eating solids, but they are eating liquids, Purdue spokeswoman Jeanne Norberg said.
"The hunger strike is not quite a hunger strike," she said. "It's certainly not a great way to spend your time, but they're certainly not starving."
Students have been protesting the factories for approximately seven years, trying to persuade the university not to sell sweatshop products, Jun said.
Purdue's president, Martin Jischke, invited the protesters to discuss the issue with him and to attend board of trustees meetings, Norberg said.
"The university is moving as expeditiously as possible on this matter, and I hope the students who expressed concerns will do nothing that endangers their health," Jischke said in a press release.
Jischke established a Merchandise Licensing and Marketing Policy Committee in 2000, Norberg said. The committee is composed of faculty who advise the president about labor issues and standards for companies that manufacture products with the Purdue logo must follow, she said.
The committee recently voted to reject guidelines of the Designated Suppliers Program, a group of colleges that guarantee sweatshop products are not sold in university stores, Norberg said. The committee has forwarded its proposal to Jischke who will review it and then meet with four of the protesters Dec. 6 to discuss the report, she said.
More than 30 colleges endorse the DSP, including Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jun said.
Purdue is part of the Workers Rights Consortium and Fair Labor Association, which both monitor labor-standards for university products, Norberg said.
"The administrators have consistently refused to adhere to the guidelines [set by these organizations]," Jun said.
The protesters include members from the Purdue Organization for Labor Equality and the Purdue Alliance of Libertarian Socialists, Jun said.
Ball State bookstores already adhere to guidelines that help avoid problems creating controversy at other universities, Kristine Pavlonnis, Barnes & Noble assistant buyer, said.
The Ball State Bookstore does not provide merchandise manufactured in sweatshops, Pavlonnis said. All Barnes & Noble venders are required to sign a code of conduct that they will purchase merchandise from inspected and approved factories, she said.
TIS bookstore also does not carry products manufactured in sweatshops, store manager Pam Sumin said. All the clothing comes from NCAA licensed companies that have standards, she said.
"I have no idea which specific factories our clothes come from," Sumin said. "I do know the NCAA people research the factories and approve them."
A CBX bookstore representative was unavailable for comment.
The Purdue protesters are demanding that the university adhere to the conditions established by the DSP, Jun said.
"We will settle for no less than full acceptance of the DSP," Jun said.
The protesters organized a sit-in in Jischke's office, but that failed after administrators threatened to suspend the students, Jun said.
The protesters have also started an online petition and have been camping out front of the Stewart Center, a university building, Jun said.
There have been protest rallies for the past two to three years, he said.
"The administration has largely ignored our protests," Jun said. "The only interaction we've had is occasional police harassment."
No students were arrested, but the police woke up students who were camping in front of the Stewart Center, Jun said.
Purdue administrators are allowing the students to camp outside the president's office while the building is open, but they must leave when the building closes at 5 p.m., Norberg said.
"Police were called on that occasion, for obvious reasons, but the officers' response has been as restrained as possible under the circumstances," Norberg said.
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