USAS deserves praise
I witnessed [Nike CEO and President Phil Knight’s] punitive actions to withhold $30 million from your school. I witnessed on local TV news in Santa Fe, N.M., one of your school officials going soft on the issue. He should be proud of you all at [United Students Against Sweatshops.]
But for the grace of God and/or fate we could be locked up 14 hours a day for the rest of our lives cutting and sewing garments in degrading environments. Yes, that’s right, good people like you and me with hearts and souls and feelings.
I also saw [NBC’s Dateline] show on Gap’s practices allowing women from China to be exported to Saipan and locked up in a manner most Americans would not treat their animals. This is all for greed. How many more fancy steak dinners do we really need in this country at the expense of someone else?
I am sending this letter to support you, the USAS! I am a clothing designer. I cut and sew all my own garments. Fortunately for me there is a humane non-profit factory here in New Mexico if I start to do large volume. The women are treated with decency and respect.
Karen Eipel
Santa Fe, N.M. resident
Nike’s legacy needs to return
Isn’t it ironic that [Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman], who have made such tremendous contributions to the University [“Nike’s legacy rooted at Hayward,” ODE, June 22] are being overshadowed by a organization which will, undoubtedly, have a small and short-lived impact on the overall success and reputation of our beloved University? I have been deeply appreciative of the dedication both men demonstrated in their efforts to help the University to excel in athletics and academia. I, too, hope Knight will work through the emotional pain inflicted upon him by a short-sighted administration, and continue his magnificent work to improve the physical structures on the campus and achieve a greater national reputation for the Ducks.
Dan Frank
University graduate, 1957
Walk a day in my shoes
There are fears just as valid as the fear of physical injury. And some of us live in fear every day. [“Afraid to get along?” ODE, June 20].
I live in fear that the capitalist system is unstoppable, that our lives are actually being reduced to cycles of earning and consuming, that human dignity has no meaning any more unless you’re willing to toe the line and pretend consumption is the end-all be-all of human existence. I fear the degradation to my soul if I continue to play along with the notion that this materialist world is actually valuable to our spiritual development.
And yet my fears are given little credence in today’s world. When I voice my fears, most people simply stare blankly away, as if to say, “Can’t … understand … paradigm … shift.”
And if I were to act out publicly in response to my fears, I would be ridiculed, or worse, if police were nearby.
So while I can understand the fear of Jane and Joe Citizen when they encounter a large group of people who see the world from a radically different viewpoint, I have little sympathy. All I can really say to them is, welcome to my world.
Michael J. Kleckner
Journalism
Editor’s note: Michael Kleckner is the ODE’s 2000-01 editorial editor, and is currently working as an intern at The Deseret News in Salt Lake City.
