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Nationwide, Sweatshop Activists Set Precedent

"What do we want? Full disclosure! When do we want it? Now!"

This week, Harvard students added their voices to the chorus heard at colleges and universities around the country protesting the manufacture of college insignia apparel in factories with sub-par labor conditions.

After sustained pressure on their schools' administrators, student activists at Duke, Georgetown and the University of Wisconsin have reached major compromises with their administrations regarding the use of sweatshop labor in recent months.

Now, Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Princeton are beginning to follow suit.

At Harvard, after a protest outside Tuesday's Faculty meeting, the University committed itself to the principle of "full disclosure" of factory locations from companies that manufacture apparel bearing the Harvard name.

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After a similar protest several weeks ago at Princeton, Vice President Robert Durkee told demonstrators that the administration agreed with the principles behind the rally and anticipated that most of the protestors' demands would be met, although he provided no timetable for change.

"We're a few days away from an announcement," Durkee told The Crimson yesterday. "We have stated that a provision on public disclosure will be a part of our announcement."

The recent outburst of activism began Jan. 29 at Duke, where Students Against Sweatshops (SAS) staged a 31- PROTESTS

"They have both smiled their way througheverything they've gone through," Stahl said."Their faces say, `Hey, we're not disgusted, we'renot guilt-ridden, were not agonized, so why shouldyou be?"

The Clintons have used other images to boosttheir image, Stahl said.

"All of the sudden, the scandal's erupting, andwe're seeing pictures of Chelsea," she said.

Stahl pointed to the acquisition of Clinton'sdog, Buddy, as another way they helped promote afavorable impression.

"I mean, what picture says, `what a great guy!'more than a guy and his drooling dog?" Stahlasked.

But holding up a copy of yesterday's New YorkPost, which had the headline "Chillary" emblazonedacross the masthead, Stahl said the Clintons arenot always able to keep up appearances. The storyreported that Hillary Clinton had not accompaniedthe president on his trip to Latin America thisweek because she was angry with him.

"Here, the New York Post has finally got theone time when their game faces weren't there,"Stahl said.

Stahl closed her speech with a story about herearly days at CBSNews, where she said she was hired because of anaffirmative action policy aimed at making genderratios more equal.

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