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It was the first sit-in on the University of Montana campus since the Vietnam War, and it ended in arrests. At noon on Wed., April 16, nine members of United Students Against Sweatshops, one of them UW student Rod Palmquist, sat down in President George Dennison’s office and refused to leave. Over 100 fellow protestors gathered outside and in the lobby of the building to show their support.
The sit-in was an effort to pressure the Missoula school to sign on to the Designated Suppliers Program, a standard proposed by the Workers Rights Consortium that would guard against the use of sweatshop labor in the production of university apparel. Forty-two colleges and universities in the country currently uphold the standard, including UW and Seattle University. UM administrators have refused to sign onto the program, saying it may violate antitrust laws.
University vice president Jim Foley and legal counsel David Aronofsky repeatedly warned the student protestors that they would be removed if they did not leave on their own volition. At 3:30 the students agreed to meet in a nearby conference room to discuss the matter. According to Palmquist, Foley and Aronofsky agreed to write and submit a no-sweat proposal to Dennison, who was then traveling in China, and to set up a meeting with the president. Students rejected the deal, saying the administration was just “stalling for time.” The nine sitters then returned to the president’s inner lobby after finding the office locked. They stayed there until around 7 p.m., when they were arrested by Missoula police.
Palmquist reports overhearing the administration discuss how to avoid giving the reporters gathered outside a photo opportunity. Police booked the students in the building, uncuffed them, and then escorted them out. The police confiscated cell phones and cameras as evidence.
Palmquist and the Montana students have since received both their citations and cell phones. They now face charges of illegal trespassing and unruly conduct. The maximum penalty for trespassing alone is a $1,000 fine and six months in prison.
President Dennison did meet with the nine students on Wed., April 23, but only to say that he would not have authorized the meeting and that he would not participate in the Designated Suppliers Program. Says Palmquist, “The President’s response is really unfortunate. The University of Montana is not listening to its community or students.”
The protest is one in a wave of sit-ins staged nationally at colleges in support of the sweat-free campaign. Forty-six students have been arrested at Appalachian State, Penn State, and the University of Montana; six students at UNC-Chapel Hill were in their ninth day of sit-in protest on April 25.
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