The Daily Collegian Kevin Mackie (junior-health policy and administration) and Edwin Ruiz (junior-information sciences and technol ogy) sign a petition in support of sweatshop workers. USAS searches for Spanier’s support against sweatshops By Laura Nichols COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER More than 150 signatures were collected outside of the HUB-Robeson Center on Thursday in an effort to end the violation of workers’ rights in sweatshops that produce Penn State apparel. Members of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) encouraged other students to sign a petition urg ing Penn State President Graham Spanier to sign onto the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP). USAS wants Spanier to endorse the DSP so Penn State can become a part of the movement to ensure the organizational efforts of workers in sweatshops, Paige Heimark (freshman political science and studio art) said. “It’s all about the workers and their rights their human rights are being violated,” she said. “Penn State is a part of the problem.” Fbur Big Ten schools have shown their support for the DSP she said the University of lowa, the University of Indiana, the Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin. John Fitzgerald, a member of USAS, said the organization has not seen any support from Penn State. Heimark said while USAS met with Spanier last year, he did not sign on because of some of the problems he found with the DSP that violate anti-trust laws. USAS will meet with Spanier again in the next week, she said. Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said the university has not changed its stance on the DSP since Spanier’s last meeting with USAS. The major reason Spanier has opted not to endorse the DSP is because “it does not exist,” Mountz said. Fitzgerald (sophomore-Jewish studies and classics) said there was little opposition to USAS’s cause outside of the HUB on Thursday. But many passers-by were curi ous about the issue, he said. r/, ■' *, t 1 . " *s* 4*k' ■<.* A " - , i-i^fc-V'/V?* " Vr^ t * -W-. ** * f v <?s££{% .’* i • ‘'_ .• _»* J , To e-mail reporter Icnsol9@psu.edu &* * ’ *■ LOCAL Saturday Night Sober group to support alcoholic students By Caitlin Sellers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Stephen F doesn’t like to use the word “disease” to describe his condi tion he prefers the word “allergy.” The compulsion that Stephen (graduate-media studies) experi ences when he drinks alcohol is phys ical, he said. When he drinks, he only wants more. It’s a situation that a small percent age of the student population finds themselves in and one he has extract ed himself from in the effort to com bat his alcoholism. Sober since his sophomore year of college, Stephen said Alcoholics Anonymous meetings downtown were the only method of recovery that kept him on track. Now, he wants to help other students fight their alco hol addictions by holding on-campus Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Saturday Night Sober will be held every Saturday at 11 p.m. in 106 HUB- Robeson Center. k . Affordable iiiiiiiaiMMigmiiifli , Suit | $159 H [sl99*> Packages L.-"r.J Mon. 10-8 NEW Beneficial way to procrastinate: Read the latest Collegian headlines right in your facebook profile http://apps.facebook.com/psucollegian The meetings are not exclusive to Penn State students, but the time and location is designed specifically to draw students, said Stephen Shetler, an addiction specialist at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAP’S). “The only requirement for mem bership [in Alcoholics Anonymous] is the desire to stop drinking,” Shetler said. “And there are students looking for that support, especially on a Saturday night.” Stephen F, who asked that his last name not be released in accordance with Alcoholics Anonymous policy, said he wanted an effective and com forting resource for students to use. Shetler said the university has not had an on-campus Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in several years. Up to 14 percent of the United States population has or will develop a problem with alcohol, Shetler said, a statistic reported by the American Psychological Association’s Clinician's Research Digest in 1995. To make an appointment to donate, please visit: PSUREDCROSS.ORG For Stephen F., sobriety was a years-long struggle compounded by an “I’m in college” mentality. He sus pects there are other students going through a similar experience. “It’s obviously no mystery that it’s a big drinking school,” he said. “My interpretation is that there’s a vast majority of kids that are not going to develop a problem even if they’re in a frat, doing a case race or getting drunk occasionally. But for this sub population, they’re going to get out [of college] and not be able to moder ate their chinking.'' And . the message that some stu dents may have a problem with alco hol may be falling on deaf ears, he said. It’s not a moral issue, and it’s not a character issue, he said. And it’s never too soon to change your life. “The sooner, the better,” he said. “I didn’t want it to come to the point where I was passing out drunk at my kid’s fifth birthday party.” Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 I 5 To e-mail reporter: casssos@psu.edu
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