Year: Sophomore
Major: Anthropology, Environmental Science and Resource Management
Hometown: Seattle
Fun fact: I’m on the UW Ultimate Frisbee Team, Element
Leadership practice:
UW United Students Against Sweatshops is a group that fights against unfair labor practices both on campus and worldwide, as well as advocates for lower tuition. I am part of this group because it uses direct action tactics that are effective to create real change. For example, last week I led a group of students and community members in an action at the Gap in University Village. The reason we went to the Gap was because in the past decade, more than 600 people have died from fires in Bangladesh factories that produce Gap clothing. Last November, a horrific fire killed 112 people trapped inside the Tazreen factory in Bangladesh. I spoke to the manager at Gap and delivered a letter requesting that the Gap sign onto the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Agreement. Sumi Abedin, a survivor of the Tazreen fire, as well as Kalpona Akter, a former child garment worker and internationally-recognized labor rights advocate, were both present. The main leadership takeaway from USAS is that, sometimes, in order to end terrible things that are happening (such as preventable factory fires in Bangladesh) I have to be ready to step out of my comfort zone and make other people uncomfortable. Direct action such as the one we employed at the Gap is effective precisely because it forces others to recognize the role they are playing in unfair labor practices and human rights violations.