UA can't reach consensus on support for protest

At its meeting last night, the Undergraduate Assembly debated what stance to take in the now eight-day-old sit-in staged by the United Students Against Sweatshops. After an hour-long discussion, the group -- which has thus far declined to support publicly either the administration or the protesters -- failed to reach a consensus on the issue. Some members felt the group was unequipped to make a statement on the issue of sweatshop labor. Others thought the UA should not have to come out in favor of either USAS's stance that Penn should withdraw from the Fair Labor Association, or with University President Judith Rodin's decision to let a committee examine the issue. "It's important that we take a stand reflecting the opinion of the whole UA, not just particular members," UA Chairman and College senior Mike Silver said after the meeting. The UA Executive Committee will discuss the concerns raised in last night's meeting today and issue a tentative statement today or tomorrow to indicate the UA's position on the issue to date. The tentative statement, Silver said, may be adapted as the UA learns more about the situation. While the UA passed a resolution to fully support USAS's efforts to ensure fair worker and labor rights last May, they, along with the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly have not yet addressed their support for the sit-in. Last Thursday, the United Minorities Council voted to fully support the sit-in, adding itself to the other 27 groups on campus that have indicated official support. According to Silver, the UA has had to carefully examine the issue before offering its support, as the assembly represents a much larger constituency -- the whole undergraduate population -- than do other groups. Five members of the UA presented a letter they had drafted to Rodin yesterday indicating the UA's support for USAS's sit-in and backing the group's demand that the University withdraw from the FLA and join the Worker Rights Consortium. But the UA did not even vote on whether to send the letter, which sparked heated and unresolved debate among members. Many members felt they did not know enough about the FLA and WRC to vote on the UA's support for the University's withdrawal from the FLA. And some members emphasized their faith that the administration, with help from the task force, would make an appropriate and informed decision. "Change happens slowly -- the administration doesn't want to make a rash decision," College senior Jeremy Fingerman said. "[The administration] was logical with alcohol, they will be logical with this," UA Secretary and College senior Megan Davidson said. Others emphasized the immediacy of the situation and the need for the UA to take an immediate stance. "Because the issues are immediate and USAS has done an incredible job to address the issue, we don't want to delay the process," Silver said after the meeting. "Our support will help things move faster," Nursing sophomore Kim Colopinto said. Colopinto is also a member of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Sweatshops and helped draft the UA's letter of support to Rodin. Members were also unsure as to whether the UA was properly informed to make such a decision. "We, right now, are not in the place to make a decision," College junior and UA Treasurer Mike Bassik said. He added that, at this time, the UA was ill-informed of both the opinions of the administration and USAS members.