When students at Boston College register for a course, they know there will be required readings, papers, and a final exam, but hardly anyone would expect "social change" to appear on the syllabus. But for the 20 students that enrolled this semester in the newly offered course, Social Change in Action, this is exactly what they wanted. As a part of the course, the group formed sweatBANNED, a coalition to raise awareness about sweatshop labor and to petition BC to stop selling brands that are known to use it.
The idea for the new course began when visiting sociology professor Darcy Leach approached the department with a plan for a class that would focus on teaching students how to put the theory of "social change" into action.
"The response at the end of the semester [of my Social Movement course] was that there was a need for more actual empowerment. I could tell more of [the students] wanted to be involved but they didn't know how to go about getting involved or what they could do to contribute," Leach said.
Over the duration of Leach's course, students brainstorm an issue and then research the topic intensively.
In the second phase of the project, the students implement plans to bring about social change by coordinating events and raising awareness about their particular issue. This semester's class chose to focus on sweatshop labor and worker's rights.
The coalition's major goal is to pressure the BC administration to partner with the Designated Supplier Program (DSP), which requires factories producing University logo clothing to pay their workers an hourly living wage. It also specifies that workers be allowed to unionize and work under fair conditions.
While BC currently follows standards set by the Worker's Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent group that monitors sweatshops around the world, this agreement only holds suppliers responsible for their bad behavior, not actual brand names.
By not signing the DSP, the University is still allowed to sell brands that outsource labor to sweatshops.
Popular logos like Nike, Champion (BC's apparel licensee), and Reebok (an official sponsor of BC athletics teams) have all been flagged as companies that participate in such practices.
If BC were to sign the DSP in the future, it would not be able to sell or partner with a brand unless it complied with the petition's requirement that licensees compensate suppliers adequately for the actual cost of producing clothing under fair labor standards.
In an official statement issued by Jamie DiLoreto, associate athletics director for external operations, he said that because the DSP "was designed to essentially require all apparel licensees to move toward using only manufacturing facilities that have been approved (or 'designated') by the WRC [it] is a radical departure from the current model of allowing licensees to source product through their respective sourcing divisions."
He also said that "a number of constituents have expressed concerns that the DSP may run afoul of antitrust laws, thus subjecting participants to civil liability or criminal penalties" and for this reason BC will continue to "monitor the discussions surrounding the DSP," but the department feels "that it is in the best interest of Boston College to refrain from signing on to any program that has possible implications."
"An extra 40 cents per sweatshirt that we buy at BC would triple the income for sweatshop laborers," said member Jason Ng, A&S '09. "The fact that this is the case is definitely alarming. Yet fundraising programs are not enough. We have to address the structural causes, and I believe sweatBANNED is moving towards this."
Ng and the other members of sweatBANNED said they acknowledge that BC's support of the DSP "could create tensions between the University and its partners," but insist that despite this conflict they will continue to request BC's support.
Fellow Jesuit universities Fordham and Georgetown, as well as Ivy League universities Brown, Columbia, and Cornell, have already affirmed their support of the DSP.
Members of sweatBANNED said it is only logical that BC join the 41 other universities that have signed the petition; they said this will help the University to further align its administrative actions with its Jesuit values.
"The underlying goal is to get these brands to become more socially responsible and the DSP will serve to do that over time," Ng said.
Last Thursday, SweatBANNED held a photo demonstration to peacefully raise awareness about the dangers of sweatshop labor.
The members held signs and wore BC gear to show their solidarity with the cause. On April 16, the coalition also hosted a panel discussion featuring representatives from United Students Against Sweatshops and the WRC.
"We're definitely proud of our school and would like to show our BC pride without having to wear sweatshop-produced clothing," Ng said.
SweatBANNED has received support from the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC), Amnesty International, the Global Justice Program (GJP), and Justice United.
While its members are not sure if they will request official University approval for the coalition in the future, they have shown themselves to be passionate and dedicated to the cause.
Leach said she is pleased with how the trial run of her course played out, and next year, Social Change in Action will be extended to a full-year, six-credit course.
She said that students need more than a semester to draft an action plan and coordinate an initiative, although this semester's students experienced noteworthy success in only five months.
"Hardly anyone is a good organizer their first time out in terms of knowing what works and what doesn't," Leach said. "But I think this group accomplished a lot. They organized two different events with a budget of only $450. My measure of success is how much they learned about organizing. And by that measure, they were very successful."
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