The Daily Beacon

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Issue 43, Volume 122

Monday, March 11, 2013

Group urges UT to cut ties with adidas Preston Peeden Associate Editor Inflamed by injustice and impassioned by a sense of universal human rights, seven students marched off the elevator in Andy Holt Tower into the offices of UT System Presdient Joe DiPietro and demanded change. The group cut the neckties they were wearing as a symbolic gesture for the university to “cut ties” with the athletic apparel company adidas. Led by Robert Naylor, a sophomore in global studies, and Kayla Frye, a freshman in global studies, the Sweat Free Tennessee Coalition, a coalition-based effort, has been campaigning, as Naylor put it, “to end our dependence

on sweatshop as a university.” Backed by other progressive groups on campus, such as the Progressive Student Alliance and the Students for Justice in Palestine, the Sweat Free Tennessee Coalition draws its inspiration from adidas’ refusal to pay their severance package payments to over 2,800 overseas workers. “We want the university to cut ties with adidas, that’s our core campaign,” Naylor said. “And that’s because adidas has not paid the workers of the PT Kizone factory in Indonesia the 1.8 million dollars that they are legally owed in severance wages.” Adidas took their actions a step further by paying these workers in food vouchers, which do little to solve the

issues of these people’s immediate needs. “You can’t pay your rent or your bills with food vouchers,” Frye said. “And a lot of them ended up having to sell the food vouchers for way less than they were worth just to get by.” These violations, Naylor states, are enough for the university to justify cancelling their contract with adidas, which UT renewed in 2010 with an agreement to run through at least 2015. “Universities are able to cut contracts if there is a violation of their labor codes, it is part of the contract,” Naylor said. “If a brand is found to be in violation of the contract, UT can choose to either not renew or just cut ties entirely.

And we want to work with President DiPietro on a time frame of getting rid of adidas.” Along with the symbolic gesture of “cutting ties,” Sweat Free Tennessee also dropped off a letter to one of DiPietro’s secretaries outlining their cause, which was the third such attempt to make contact with the system president. “We dropped off one letter at the beginning of the semester and we dropped off another letter with cupcakes, hoping that he would eat the cupcakes and get trapped into the letter,” Naylor said “… I think we’ll be much more likely to get a meeting this time.” See SWEAT FREE on Page 3

Jalynn Baker • The Daily Beacon

Students show their cut ties with the adidas logo after visiting the office of UT System President Joe DiPietro on March 8.

Renowned activist to speak on race, HIV Brooke Turner Staff Writer Jonathan Perry has a story. It’s a story that’s been told on the national scale by “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and it’s a story that’s coming to UT’s University Center tonight at 7:00 p.m. Perry, an activist on issues concerning being “black and homosexual in America” since he contracted HIV almost thirteen years ago, will present on the issues of being a double minority. According to the American Program Bureau, a global speaker and entertainment agency, Perry spiraled into a deep and life-threatening depression after discovering he was HIV positive. The agency reported that Perry’s involvement in oncampus HIV education programs helped him overcome the depression and gave him the encouragement he needed to speak publicly about his life experiences. After Perry shared his story with the campus at his alma mater of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. in 2002, he began organizing forums on race and sexual orientation, which led him to found the first official LGBT organization at his alma mater, where Perry continued to grow in his activism. His work became so noteworthy that it caught the attention of Winfrey. In 2004 he was featured on her show where he shared his story. “I’m the type of person who keeps all of my skeletons on the front door. That way when someone goes rambling through my closets, all they will find are clothes,” said Perry to the APB.

Although it has been a hectic journey, Perry admitted to the APB that, if given the chance he wouldn’t go back again, because he feels like his story and his willingness to speak out has saved some people’s lives and has inspired them to hope and taught them take responsibility for their own lives. The Black Cultural Programming Committee is sponsoring the event, and Rebecca Butcher, a sophomore in English and member of BCPC, is hoping Perry’s presentation will spark dialogue on campus, specifically within the demographics that Perry is a part of. “I think it’s an important event for students dealing with the prospect of ‘coming out,’” Butcher said. “Particularly in the black community, it’s usually such a huge deal for homosexual men. I’m expecting this to start a good discussion among my peers about the subject of homophobia.” Marlon Johnson, graduate advisor for BCPC, is also looking forward to the event because he too feels it is a relevant issue that needs to be discussed on campus. “The purpose of this program is to raise awareness about the issue of homophobia and to address the different viewpoints of homosexuality within the AfricanAmerican community and within the general population,” Johnson said. “Mr. Perry will discuss his experience and will speak against some of the lies and myths that surround the LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning and Allied) community of color.”

Vols outlast Missouri in final home matchup packed crowd to victory. The win marked a crucial late season matchup against a ranked The Tennessee Volunteers opponent that resulted in more celebrated their last regular than just a win. season matchup and their final Tennessee held off the home game with a win. Missouri Tigers during a Similar to their win over 64-62 thriller in front of a No. 5 Florida on Feb. 26, sold-out Thompson-Boling the Vols rode the wave of a Arena. Sophomore forward

Anthony Elias

Staff Writer

Jarnell Stokes said it was the fans that really came out and performed. “They were like our sixth man,” he said. “They helped us make a lot of runs ... even a few guys that played into the crowd. The energy, you know, it’s what you live for.” Head coach Cuonzo Martin

said it was not just a win for the team but for the face of Tennessee basketball. “A great win for the program. A great win on ESPN to represent the university,” he said. “It was just a fun time, couldn’t ask for a better outcome.” The Vols had to fight off

Missouri’s duo of Laurence Bowers and Phil Pressey. The 1-2 combo scored eight of Missouri’s first 10 points and gave the Tigers a 10-3 lead early on. Bowers’ inside presence helped the Tigers outscore the Vols 36-28 in the paint. “There is a tough, talented

team in Mizzou,” Martin said. “They’re a physical team with a lot of parts that can make plays and when we got down eight points, we just showed who we really are as a team that is built to be successful and built to fight.” See MEN’S BASKETBALL on Page 8


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