Campus Briefs
Adidas Boycott Wins Fight for Workers
Santa Clara, along with 16 other universities, participated in a boycott that forced Adidas to pay over $1.8 million in severance pay overall. Two thousand-seven hundred workers were laid off when the owner of PT Kizone garment factory in Indonesia closed it down over two years ago, leaving the workers without their final wages.
A stalemate resulted between the Indonesian Supreme Court and the banks financing the factory, which left the workers without the money they relied on for survival.
Adidas claimed that it was not responsible for the money, even though the workers insisted that it was because they were making Adidas gear.
The "Badidas" campaign was started by the United Students Against Sweatshops and has since reportedly made two coast-to-coast worker tours, crashed a Selena Gomez Adidas fashion show and sparked on-campus action throughout the country.
Along with the other schools, Santa Clara achieved the largest collegiate boycott of a top-three sports company in history.
The sportswear giant reportedly settled with the workers for an undisclosed, yet substantial, sum for these many workers.
Martinez and Smart Take Charge
Judith Martinez and Ryan Smart are taking the Associate Student Government by storm, as their official win was announced Wednesday in the early evening after a smooth election.
The candidates were informed of their win late Tuesday night, however the official results were not released to the student body until Wednesday.
Matt MacDonald, the outgoing vice president of ASG, was pleased with the way the election went since no violations were handed out throughout the campaign.
"All candidates were concerned with following the rules," said MacDonald. "I tried to make myself available to students for any questions about campaign restrictions."
This election followed a drawn-out election last year, where unclear voting complications caused a candidate to be disqualified.
"The election code was reworked to eliminate any gray areas," explained MacDonald.
According to MacDonald, 1,229 students voted or about 20 percent of the student body.
Martinez and Smart both expressed their excitement about the opportunity to serve the student body.
"We are looking forward to promoting transparency initiatives that will help Santa Clara students realize their potential while building community capital that fosters communication, collaboration, commitment and creativity," expressed Smart.
In addition, the pair hope to increase student interest in Registered Student Organizations the way that Chartered Student Organizations are acknowledged on campus. Through featuring a club each week, every club will gain awareness throughout campus.
From staff reports. Email news@thesantaclara.com.