Last Tuesday, the Stanford community came together and took a stand for human rights. We acted because we could not, in good conscience, let another day go by in which Stanford was complicit in the exploitation of workers around the world. We refused to remain passive while the workers who make our apparel earn poverty wages, face sexual assault and work 18-hour days.

The sit-in was not an action we wanted to take, but it was an action we had to take. After three months of meetings with the administration, we had hit a wall. For over a month now, President Hennessy has had all the information he needs to act. We do not need more meetings. We just need President Hennessy to do the right thing: to join the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) and to ensure that Stanford apparel is sweatshop-free.

President Hennessy has told us that this is a complex issue, and that it takes a long time to make a decision. We know — we spent well over 100 hours researching these programs during fall quarter, making sure that the programs we were proposing to the administration actually made a concrete improvement in the lives of the workers who make our apparel. We chose the WRC and DSP because they improve factory conditions while allowing workers to keep their jobs. The campaign has shared all of our research with President Hennessy, both in a comprehensive report and in personal meetings. We agree that we must approach these important issues with deliberation. However, we also know the difference between deliberation and stalling.

We have done everything we can to show President Hennessy that the Stanford community cares deeply about this issue. Over 1,000 students, faculty, alumni and community members signed our petition; 21 student groups endorsed our campaign; and both the Undergraduate Senate and Graduate Student Council passed support resolutions for the WRC and DSP. Peer institutions such as Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Duke and the entire UC system have already signed onto the WRC and DSP. Still, despite having all the information he needs and tremendous support from the community here and abroad, President Hennessy has failed to act. His inaction over the past three months ultimately forced us to take greater action.

This institution teaches us to be responsible, global citizens. Last Tuesday, we owned up to that responsibility, only to face arrest. We were prepared for this outcome, but we hoped to the very end that President Hennessy would look inside of himself and find the strength to make the correct, moral decision. We hoped that, rather than criminalize his own students, President Hennessy would criminalize the abuses in sweatshops. Despite the actions of the administration, we remain committed and determined in our struggle to uphold the integrity of our beloved University. Students, alumni and faculty, join us as we continue to fight for a more fair and just world. Now is the time to act — to come together and improve the lives of the workers who sew our clothes.

This op-ed was submitted by Bethany Woolman ‘09 on behalf of the Sweat-Free Stanford Coalition. She can be reached at bwoolman@stanford.edu.