09-07-12

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INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 14

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Students, Profs Ask Skorton to Sever Adidas Contract

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ITHACA, NEW YORK

16 Pages – Free

Commons to come

By SARAH SASSOON Sun Staff Writer

Cornell’s Licensing Oversight Committee voted Thursday to recommend that President David Skorton sever the University’s athletic apparel contract with Adidas, citing labor abuses the company allegedly committed in 2011. Adidas, along with Nike and the Dallas Cowboys, had been manufacturing logo-bearing apparel for Cornell at PT Kizone, a factory in Tangerang, Indonesia. When the factory closed in the spring of 2011, nearly 3,000 workers were left without severance pay — amounting to at least $3.3 million in payments withheld, according to a report published in May 2011 by the Workers Right Consortium, an independent labor rights monitoring organization with which Cornell “[Adidas’] actions violate our is affiliated. The Code of Conduct; the next step is report alleges ... to cut the contract.” that Adidas alone owes $1.8 Sweatfree Cornell Coalition million in severance to its former workers. “Adidas has denied that they were producing in the factory at the time of closure despite evidence … that proved otherwise,” the Sweatfree Cornell Coalition said in a statement Thursday. “The LOC has already determined that the company’s actions violate our Code of Conduct; the next step is for the President to cut the contract with Adidas.” While Nike and the Dallas Cowboys have since paid their workers the money they owed them, Adidas has refused to claim responsibility for its severance obligations, according to Scott Nova, executive director of the WRC. See ADIDAS page 4

News Cracking Chestnut Hill

Ithaca Police arrests two men in connection with a 2011 murder. | Page 3

A June 7 architectural rendering shows the proposed redesign of the Ithaca Commons, which will feature a broad central pedestrian corridor paved in ochre and tan colors and flanked by amenity strips for trees, planting beds and both fixed and moveable seating.

Police: More Violent Crimes Reported By DANIELLE SOCHACZEVSKI Sun Staff Writer

Three reported sexual assaults on Sunday represent a fraction of a larger danger to students, according to Cornell police. “It seems that violent crimes are on the rise or violent crimes are being reported more often,” said Kathy Zoner, chief of the Cornell University Police Department, said in a presentation to the Student Assembly on

Thursday. “What we get reported to us is barely touching the surface of what goes on on this campus.” CUPD receives few reports of rapes, and those that are reported are not always included in crime emails, alert according to Zoner. But the events of last weekZONER end caused an “ongoing and imminent danger,” to

By HARRISON OKIN

Doctor D.J.

Congressional candidate Nate Shinagawa ’05 M.A. ’09 engaged a group

of students in a questionand-answer session Thursday evening. Shinagawa, 28, said his young age allows him to better relate to many of

Cornell’s students. He vowed that if elected, he would work in Congress to develop solutions to students’ problems. He also encouraged

Opinion To Betch or Not to Betch

Abdiel Ortiz-Carrasquillo ’13 argues that Cornell is the mecca of betches. | Page 7

Arts Puppet Power

The Sun reviews an Indonesian puppet show. | Page 9

Sports Prepped and Ready

Men’s soccer prepares to take on Lafayette this weekend. | Page 16

Sunny HIGH: 86 LOW: 57

See CUPD page 4

Cornell Democrats host Congressional candidate to discuss issues facing students Sun Staff Writer

Weather

the Cornell community, Zoner said, and thus necessitated a timely warning to the public. Zoner said that due to the narrow window of time in which Sunday’s crimes occurred, CUPD is investigating whether any of the three were committed by the same perpetrator. “The case is still very, very active. We do have a number of good leads and are looking forward to a positive resolution [of the case],” she said. In the meantime, the University is

Shinagawa ’05 Tells Students to Pursue Local Office

News Afrika Bambaataa will become a Visiting Scholar at Cornell this year. | Page 3

COURTESY OF CITY OF ITHACA

CONNOR ARCHARD / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Repeat after me | Nate Shinagawa ’05, a Congressional candidate running to represent the 23rd district, fielded questions from students at a Q&A Thursday.

students to get involved with local politics themselves. “Students spend nine months living in Ithaca. They develop a vested interest in the community, and they are affected by local politics,” Shinagawa said. “You should not only go register and vote here, but run for office here too. You can really have an influence.” Shinagawa — who is running against Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) in New York State’s 23rd district, which includes Tompkins County — responded to students’ queries while attempting to energize his youth supporters at the event, organized by the Cornell Democrats. “When I attended Cornell, it was a dark time to be a Democrat. We lost

who we were and what our voice was,” said Shinagawa, who would become the nation’s youngest Congressman if elected. “Democrats need to stand up for the middle class, and for fairness and opportunity in the 21st century.” The candidate reminisced at his time as a stuat dent Cornell. Shinagawa said his favorite course was Environmental Conservation with Prof. Timothy Fayhey. During an energetic discussion Thursday, he emphasized the need for education and student loan reform, both in New York State and across the U.S. Evoking an issue cruSee SHINAGAWA page 4


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