In the midst of ASUO candidacy announcements and the Pac-10 Conference Tournament, I am debating what is really fair. If an ASUO presidential candidate decided to make some money instead of using the budget to benefit UO students, that would be unfair. In a Pac-10 Tournament game, if an opposing team received four points for every basket they scored, yet Oregon Ducks received only two points, that would also be unfair.
But what seems more unfair is that the current global trade system allows global market negotiators to purchase cheap goods from laborers who suffer through inadequate pay and harmful work conditions. Businesses then sell the products to developed countries at inflated prices for profit maximization. This is unfair trade!
But as a University of Oregon student, I am fighting for fair trade.
I am working with journalism students Heron Calisch-Dolen, Maya Shaff, and Daniel Hogan, as we compete in an international competition for Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair Campaign. Oxfam initiated the competition to give people under the age of 30 a chance to design and possibly implement a campaign to gain signatures for the Make a Big Noise Petition and to promote fair trade. A problem of this size needs as much help as it can get and we are happy to be a part of the solution.
On Tuesday, March 13, we will cause a ruckus to gain student signatures for Oxfam International’s Make a Big Noise Petition. The petition calls on decision makers to improve the currently unfair trade regulations by creating laws to protect the exploited workers. On March 13, look for Oxfam’s representatives at the UO Bookstore, where fair trade products are available, or go online any time and sign the petition yourself at www.maketradefair.org.
For us, it is fulfilling to work for a beneficial cause, and we’re only doing our homework!
Kathryn Fenstermaker
University student