Students tackle corp. reform

While Penn may not be known as a radical campus, representatives of a new national activist group are hoping they can stir up some sense of support for their cause. Student Alliance to Reform Corporations held an informational meeting Tuesday evening in Civic House. Still in its formative phase, STARC was founded in April by Yale University students, and its members hope to persuade their universities to only invest in socially responsible companies. In addition to the co-founders of Penn's branch, College sophomores Alisa Valderrama and Lauren Bialystok, a Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer, the meeting highlighted STARC national coordinator Jonah Zern. During her welcome to the dozen Penn students in attendance and her introduction of Zern, Valderrama tried to define STARC's goal, and particularly that of Penn's chapter. "We're trying to motivate students, eventually for corporate reform, but more immediately to get our university to invest its money responsibly." STARC has yet to fully define itself as a group and members at Penn and nationally are still trying to determine common goals. Zern defined the University environment, for instance, as being a "community of students, faculty and staff," and he implored students to question why the University Trustees -- mainly corporate executives -- are involved in decision-making processes. Valderrama, however, countered that at Penn, "STARC is not at all about eliminating Trustees. We want to make the Trustees' decisions tangential to the interests of the students." For the Penn students in attendance, Zern hoped to increase awareness of the impact they can have on corporations. "If we remember that we're the 1 percent of the world that gets to go to college, and if we join with those who don't get that chance, we can be really effective," the 21-year-old Cornell University graduate said. "Students need to know that their actions are significant, and it's important that Ivy League students work together, because they are going to have a great opportunity to make a difference." Zern's speech to the group did not focus only on students, though. Much of the time was spent on international issues, and the speech format gave way to a heated discussion. While voices were raised and the mood was volatile at times, the arguments remained ideological, and before the evening ended, the parties seemed to have reached an understanding. "It was great that we could have that kind of debate, because we usually don't get that much interaction. It felt good," Zern said. During the event, STARC members promoted a conference, to be held at Yale from November 5-7, called Students Challenging Corporate Power.