I didn't know exactly what to expect from USAS on the national
level. I didn't know whether they would be more dedicated or less,
more knowledgable or less, or even if they were so extreme I wouldn't
want to be around them. I guess I found out it was a potpouri. I
could definately tell there were some people there who wanted to
question what activism was, and then there were those that wanted to be
activists. I fall into the camp of the latter, because I think the
goal of activism defines what it is, and it is pretty hard to win a
campaign in the middle of an identity crisis. What I found most
beneficial was the practical knowledge and advice that came from
schools that had won their Sweatfree campaigns, hearing a recounting of
their experiences, what worked and what didn't, and for what reasons
they did or did not work. I finally found the responses to the
agruments against the Designated Suppliers' Program that had been
puzzling me for so long, and have renewed my confidence that the DSP is
the solution to the collegiate apparell problem. I will no longer
fumble with words, uttering half "umms" at difficult questions. I
won't feel intimidated by the representative from Knight's Apparel or
the Free Labor Association, and despite the fact that she is supposed
to invoke sympathy, I won't be afraid of the pregnant lady from Nike.
To sum it up, I feel we have a winning strategy, that after
exhausting the traditional mechanisms the University has set up for us,
that we can still succeed. The Committee decision was not really the
end, it was just the end of playing nice. The atmosphere of the USAS
conference was rife with energy, like every person was confident of
student power. It was contagious. Coming back to Ann Arbor, I feel
innervated. Innervated by strategy, innervated by the Worker's Rights
Consortium, and innervated by the new allies and relationships we
formed with fellow activists the country over. To use the words of
Nike, I think SOLE is ready to "Just do it".
-Blase
