Fifteen students at Purdue University are in their 19th day of fasting Tuesday in an effort to convince the university to join an anti-sweatshop labor organization. \nThat organization, the Designated Suppliers Program, aims to protect the rights of workers who manufacture university apparel and merchandise. The goal of the program is to respect these rights by ensuring a living wage and promoting good labor standards. Additionally, the program guarantees that sweatshop products are not sold in university stores. \nAccording to Jeanne Norberg, a spokesperson for Purdue University, the administration has refused to enter into the Designated Suppliers Program as of Monday afternoon. Purdue University President Martin Jischke has only met with the strikers a few times since the start of the fast, Norberg added, and he still holds strong to his anti-DSP position because he feels the program's provisions are too strict. \nThe protest started as a sit-in for students, but it turned into a hunger strike Nov. 17 after Jischke stated he would not be changing his stance on DSP. \nNorberg said the students on the strike are not engaged in a full-out hunger strike as it is being portrayed because they are consuming liquids. \n"The hunger strike is not quite a hunger strike," she said. "They're certainly not starving." \nJischke said in a statement that university officials are trying to resolve the issue in a timely manner, but students should be aware of their health situations during the strike. \n"The university is moving as expeditiously as possible on this matter," Jischke said in a release. "And I hope the students who expressed concerns will do nothing that endangers their health." \nMany universities across the nation are already members of the DSP, including Columbia University, Duke University, Georgetown University, the entire University of California system and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. \nStarting Sunday night, a group of 10 students from the UW's Student Labor Action Coalition held a one-day fast of their own in support of the Purdue students. Their fast ended Monday at 8 p.m.
\nSLAC member Joel Feingold, who participated in UW's one-day fast, said the members fasted in order to draw attention to what the Purdue students were doing. \n"We really wanted to draw attention to the fact that our colleagues at Purdue have been striking for 18 days now," Feingold said. "We want to point out the fact that the UW has been a member (of the DSP) for a year now, and we don't understand why another school in the same conference can't do the same." \nFeingold said SLAC has been sending e-mails to Purdue administration and will participate in a nationwide call-in Wednesday, urging Purdue officials to change their stance on DSP.
