Thank you for publishing the guest commentary by Mariah Thompson of the UO Survival Center (“Draconian regulations need to go,” ODE, April 21). It is a continuing outrage that the University administration cozies up to Nike, given this corporation’s immoral labor practices in other countries. The University of Wisconsin has recently done the right thing. Will the University see the light anytime soon?
I bought my first and only pair of Nike shoes in 1976 (less than a year following Prefontaine’s untimely departure) at the original Nike storefront in the atrium building in downtown Eugene. My now-legendary “waffle trainers” were well-made in the U.S. and darned good shoes. Yet soon enough I had reason to doubt Nike’s ascension and business practices. Now the
company seems to enjoy an imperial command over the University’s development, and the association carries for many of us a profound moral and ethical queasiness.
The front-page story “Sustainable practices make perfect book,” (ODE, April 21) featuring the recent work of UO business professor Mike Russo, showcases a great example of how the University can do things right and well. I can only hope that the University administration carefully reads both pieces and will proceed along a better way in the future.
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