Subversity Blog

Disorient UCI! Planning meeting for the 09-10 UCI Disorientation Guide

subversity — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:46:40 +0000

Tuesday, May 12 • 8:00pm • Anthill Pub, UCI Student Center

Join UCI undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff in the planning of a UCI Disorientation Guide for Fall quarter 2009!

The goal of a Disorientation Guide is to orient new and returning students to a radical education and to possibilities not endorsed by the status quo administration. It will provide the UCI community with intimate knowledge of their vernacular and secret surroundings, providing them with the tools needed to critically assess the educations they are receiving, while giving them avenues to effect revolution in their daily lives. It is also an endeavor for the disorientation collective, forcing us to critically examine the spaces we occupy and identify new opportunities to create ruptures in the existing system.

Disorientation is not so much a guide as it is an on-going project, but in publishing an annual guide we hope to plant the seeds of critical thought and resistance in the incoming cohort of students. In its entirety, it is nothing more than a toolkit which students, faculty, and staff can utilize as they continue their tenures at UCI. So what kind of tools would we include in a Guide?

Tactical maps of UCI and OC – mapping where weapons research takes place, Acagchemem burial sites, police stations, community spaces
UC Power Structure
Know your faculty – radical lecturers, military and animal researchers, and who makes the most money
Issues affecting the UCI community, including AB540, animal rights, environment, labor, divestment, food systems, etc. This is a space for campus groups to promote their own issues and campaigns.
Directory of radical/left/activist groups on campus, and campus resources
Radical history of UCI and OC
Ecology of UCI and OC
Introduction to critical/radical ideas about race, class, and gender that aren’t taught in classes, and critiques of institutionalized education
What to do when stopped by police

Here are a few examples:
Columbia: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cssn/disguide/disguide02.pdf
Notre Dame: http://www.campusactivism.org/akreider/disorient.pdf
NYU: http://ventriloquismnyc.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/nyu-disorientation-guide-2008/
Harvard: http://www.badideafactory.net/disguide/disorientationindex.htm
Cal: http://www.caldisorientation.org/TableOfContents
UCSC: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/29/18450552.php
Others: http://www.campusactivism.org/displaycategory-4.htm

To help plan, design, and write the 09-10 UCI Disorientation Guide, email DisorientUCI@riseup.net, or come to this meeting! The more collaborators the better, and every contribution is vital!

(Statement from Radical Student Union@UCI distributed on email 8 May 2009)

UCI Students Protest Vicente Fox, Seek Justice for Victims of Repression

subversity — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:50:39 +0000

WHEN: April 8, 2009, 5:00pm and 7:00pm

WHERE: Parkview Classroom Building room 1300
University of California, Irvine campus

WHO: Simón Sedillo, documentary filmmaker and community organizer
Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico

WHAT: Simón Sedillo and UCI students will be presenting at 5:00pm in the
Parkview Classroom Building about Vicente Fox’s role in repression of
social movements and human rights abuses. This event coincides with
Fox’s dinner lecture sponsored by Chancellor Michael V. Drake and the
Center for the Study of Democracy. Following the presentation at
7:00pm, protests against Fox are expected to take place outside the UCI
University Club.

WHY: While many at UCI consider ex-Mexican President Vicente Fox’s visit
an honor and festive event, others strongly opposes his presence on our
campus and feel outraged tht his speech will be given under the pretense
of democracy. The events organized on April 8, are reflective of the a
hero of democracy, despite his record of repression and violence against
activists and human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch.

Letter to UCI Chancellor Drake on Sweatshop-made Clothing

subversity — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:47:44 +0000

April 1, 2009

Dear Chancellor Drake,

We are writing to contact you about gross violations of our school’s code of conduct by
Russell Athletic, a university licensee. Radical Student Union and Worker Student Alliance
have learned that a unionized factory in Honduras called Jerzees de Honduras was closed
down as a result of Russell Athletic cutting and running from one of the few garment
factories in the world that is not an outright sweatshop. On top of this, worker leaders of the
Jerzees de Honduras union have received death threats, which they believe are linked to the
factory’s closure.

The Jerzees de Honduras factory is known for being one of two facilities that was the focus
of intense anti-sweatshop advocacy last year. In September 2007, the Worker Rights
Consortium (WRC) began investigations concerning Jerzees de Honduras and Jerzees
Choloma, two factories which were owned and operated by Russell Athletic to produce
collegiate apparel for universities. The WRC found that Russell Athletic responded to
workers’ organizing drives with an illegal union-busting campaign – firing 145 workers, all of
whom were founding members of the unions. Students quickly learned of Russell’s antiunion
activities, and immediately put pressure on the company to provide back pay and
offers of reinstatement to all of the 145 illegally fired workers. These workers went on
reestablish their unions and press for improved working conditions, representing
extraordinary progress in complying with the basic labor rights that are written in
universities’ codes of conduct. The Fair Labor Association, of which UCI is a member, has
also issued reports congruent with that of the WRC.

Unfortunately, this progress did not last long. Russell Athletic closed Jerzees Choloma in
March of this year, and have now also cut and run from their only other unionized factory in
the country, Jerzees de Honduras. And, of course, Russell is not closing any of its other nonunion
factories in Honduras! By cutting and running from one of the only factories in
Russell’s entire supply chain in which the right to freedom of association is actually
respected, Russell Athletic is showing not just a lack of commitment to the basic principles
that are supposedly protected by university codes of conduct, but also a complete disregard
for the lives of the workers. Given that this is not a unique case, and that Russell has a
history of cutting and running from factories in which workers attempt to exercise their
rights, we are left to wonder what Russell Athletic’s purported concern for workers’ rights
really means.

If universities allow Russell to go forward with this, it is fair to say that our codes of conduct
are essentially worthless to workers. Given all of these violations, and especially considering
the penalization of so many workers who have done nothing more than exercise a right that
is guaranteed in UC’s code of conduct, we feel that it is imperative that UCI and the UC
Regents engage Russell Athletic immediately on this issue.

Twenty-five major licensing schools – including Columbia University, Cornell University, all
of the Universities of Minnesota campuses, Harvard University, New York University,
University of Wisconsin, and most recently the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill –
have already cut their contracts with Russell, and many others are considering it.
Unfortunately, unless all of the University of California campuses, including UCI, follows the
example of these other universities by taking action against Russell today, our school will be
aiding and abetting the systematic exploitation of hundreds of Honduran workers. This is
not the time to engage with dialogue with Russell, as we already know – and 25 schools
have agreed with us – that Russell’s actions to date have demonstrated their total lack of
commitment towards workers and workers rights.

We, as UCI students, demand:

1. that the UCI Bookstore and all other UCI entities with direct business relationships
immediately sever all ties to Russell;

2. that Chancellor Drake communicate directly to UC President Yudof and the Board of
Regents the desire of UCI students and administrators to terminate the Russell
contract;

3. that Chancellor Drake communicate to the media his commitment to upholding
workers’ rights as guaranteed under American and Honduran labor law and
supported by the UN and ILO, especially freedom of association and living wages,
for all workers associated with UCI, both on campus and abroad;

4. and finally, that Chancellor Drake attend a panel organized by Radical Student
Union and Worker Student Alliance on April 17 (time and location TBA) featuring
several of the Jerzees de Honduras workers themseves, to hear first-hand accounts
of the conditions where UCI apparel is produced.

Because the UC schools–including UCB, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, and UCI–hold one of the
largest clothing contracts with Russell, it is obligated to show the world that we stand for
workers’ rights in solidarity with the 21 other universities who have cut Russell, by
immediately terminating UC and UCI’s licensing relationship with this company. We, as
Radical Student Union and Worker Student Alliance, part of a state-wide coalition of UC and
CSU students, are committed to mobilizing students, faculty, and staff should the UC
Regents and UCI refuse to terminate its licensing relationship with Russell and demand a
response by April 10th at irvineradicalstudents@riseup.net.

Sincerely,

Radical Student Union

Worker Student Alliance

California United Students Against Sweatshops

UCI Radical Student Union’s Russell Sweatshop Campaign

subversity — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:43:09 +0000

Labor Rights Violations are not an April Fools’ Joke
Students demand that UC Regents and UCI cut contracts with Russell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 1, 2009 – At approximately 1pm today, 25 students representing United Students Against
Sweatshops (USAS), Radical Student Union (RSU), Worker Student Alliance (WSA), and
Muslim Student Union (MSU) at the University of California at Irvine delivered a letter to
Chancellor Michael V. Drake’s office demanding that UCI and the UC Regents immediately
terminate UC’s licensing agreement with Russell Athletic and all other business relations with the
company.

In a related action today, 10 students placed over 200 fliers in Russell apparel in the UCI
Bookstore, urging consumers to boycott Russell because of labor violations committed by the
company. Both actions were part of a UC-wide coordinated day of action, including the
Riverside, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and UCLA campuses, in addition to UCI.
To date, 25 major universities have announced their decisions to end or not renew their contracts
with the clothing company because of its violation of Honduran apparel workers’ right to form a
union. Two other schools have ended discussions to reach licensing agreements with Russell.
The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a labor rights investigative organization with which 185
colleges and universities including UCI and the other UCs are affiliated, found that Russell
closed the Honduras plant in response to workers’ decision to unionize. Another labor rights
group with which UCI is affiliated, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), has also issued a report
supporting the WRC’s findings.

The WRC report on Russell Athletic’s violation of university codes of conduct in its treatment of
workers at the plant triggered actions by USAS chapters all over the United States. USAS
sponsored a multi-campus tour by two of the fired Honduran workers and campus chapters called
upon their university administrations to enforce code of conduct clauses in their contracts with
the company. Russell continues to deny the WRC report’s conclusions.
“Russell Athletic has clearly violated the terms of UC’s Code of Conduct and has broken
Honduran laws in its firing of union organizers; some of the clothes being sold in UCI’s
bookstore were produced in this very factory,” said John Bruning, member of USAS, RSU, and
WSA. “Chancellor Drake has voiced his commitment to workers rights for AFSCME and
OneSource workers on campus. But if that commitment is to mean anything, he needs to act
promptly to defend the rights of all workers associated with the university, whether they are
groundskeepers, graduate students, or work in factories producing UCI goods.”
RSU member Cristina Flores added, “As students at this university, we feel proud to wear UCI
shirts because of the education we are receiving. But when we find out that UCI clothing is
made in sweatshops, it’s hard to feel proud, knowing that the UCI name and logos are tied to
horrendous working conditions. Therefore, we are urging UCI and the UC Regents to cut the
contract with Russell until Russell can prove its respect for workers’ rights and our university’s
Code of Conduct.”

Universities that have taken action so far include: University of Miami, Georgetown University,
University of Houston, Duke University, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin,
Columbia University, Rutgers, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, University of
Michigan, Cornell University, Harvard, and New York University. Eight of the schools with
teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament have cut their contracts with Russell.

Gunman in Binghamton Immigrants Massacre Vietnamese

subversity — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:09:32 +0000

Linh Voong had worked at a sushi place in Inglewood, Calif.
The father is said to be a respected member of the Vietnamese community. http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090404/NEWS01/904040430

Subversity Podcasts on iTunes

subversity — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:24:45 +0000

Good news: Subversity podcasts are now available as free downloads at
the iTunes Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=307838691

If you are using a PC and do not yet have iTunes installed, the link
will take you to a site for downloading the
application. Mac users will get to the iTunes Subversity library
directly. You can “subscribe” (free) to podcasts.

Alternatively, as before, Subversity podcasts are available here:
http://www.kuci.org/podcasts/?ShowID=600

Our mp3 archive (2005- ) is here: http://kuci.org/~dtsang/subversity/mp3.htm

[The show went in hiatus from fall 2003-summer 2005, resuming in Fall, 2005]

and an earlier RealAudio archive (1998-2003) here:
http://kuci.org/~dtsang/subversity/realaudio.htm

dan
Daniel C. Tsang
Host, “Subversity” on KUCI
88.9 FM in Orange County/http://www.kuci.org
dtsang@kuci.org
Subversity site: http://kuci.org/subversity
Subversity blog: http://subversity.wordpress.com
Subversity broadcasting since September 1993
To subscribe to Subversity Podcasts: http://www.kuci.org/podcasts/?ShowID=600
KUCI Full-text Archive: http://kuci.org/~dtsang/kucift.html

Update on Lindon Barrett murder case

subversity — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:06:29 +0000

The accused (Marlon Martinez) in the former UCI prof (then-UCR prof)
Lindon Barrett murder case will apparently go on trial next year.

An arraignment is set for January 6, 2009 There is also more detail
on how Lindon was strangled.

See Martha Jo Fisher’s College Life blog in the OC Register yesterday,
citing City News Service:
http://collegelife.freedomblogging.com/2008/12/18/man-accused-of-strangling-professor-will-stand-trial/2256/

Audio of our 21 July 2008 memorial program on Lindon is here:
http://kuci.org/~dtsang/subversity/Sv080721.mp3

Palling with Ayers

subversity — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:16:54 +0000

No need to feel guilty, even if the LA Times once intoned that Bill Ayers is “toxic”. (So Obama better not have him as an advisor) I have no such qualms so I’m interviewing Ayers again (15 December 2008 at 9 am) on Subversity. He’ll talk about what educational reform he expects under Obama. The last time Ayers was on (in April 2002), rightwing forces (six and a half years later) spirited the audio of our 2002 interview and made a smear video — attempting unsuccessfully it turned out — to get voters to vote against Obama. (In the two weeks before the election, over 70,000 saw that video on YouTube — now over 82,000 have.) Have a look and let us know what you think: smear video.

Why fighting for marriage is the wrong struggle

subversity — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:12:28 +0000

In our 24 November 2008 show, we talk with a law professor who believes that legal recognition of marriage, gay or straight, privileges one type of relationship over many others.

See: Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage

Why one wants to copy straight marriage, especially with a huge divorce rate, is beyond me. It definitely was not what we in gay liberation days fought for. To seek gay marriage is a conservative goal, not a liberationist one.

See historian and U of Chicago Prof. John D’Emilio’s essay against gay marriage: The Marriage Fight Is Setting Us Back, published in The Gay & Lesbian Review (November-December 2006).

Also, listen to our discussion on the previous Subversity show with UC Riverside ethnic studies Prof. Dylan Rodriguez on the difference between a liberation movement and a rights movement (near end of audio): mp3.

See also how gay people were told to marry in Boston or lose their health benefits that they were entitled to under domestic partnerships after the state legalized gay marriage: Gay groups say domestic partnerships must be preserved.

Immigrant Lives Past and Present

subversity — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:06:16 +0000

Immigration wasn’t much addressed during the presidential campaigns but with Barack Obama now headed to the White House, I’m sure we’ll be hearing more, especially about his relative who faces deportation. In addition, his just named White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, has been the target of numerous immigration rights protesters, for his anti-immigrant positions. More immigrants were deported this year than last, see the Subversity November 10, 2008 show notice: Immigrant Lives Past and Present. The audio of the show is here: mp3.