 From the Asian Pacific American Alliance to President Bennet Dear President Doug Bennet, I am writing this letter as co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Alliance, and in solidarity with Ajua Campos, Ujaama, USLAC, and numerous other students groups, faculty, and individuals involved in the unionization of our janitors. I ask of you as the President of the University, as the one individual whose ACTIVE support we need in order for justice to happen, to act on behalf of the janitors. The workers are negotiating with Initial, but the process is incomplete without your active involvement. You are the employer. You are denying responsibility and saying it is Initial's responsibility to act. Your passivity further endangers the cause of the janitors, and relates that your main concern is cost and profits. This is a great insult to the Wesleyan community, to its students, faculty, alumni, and especially its workers. I urge you to act as a responsible leader in this situation. You seem to ignore the influence that you can have. We are trying to make you act. We WANT you to act. This is not a situation that simply a small number of individuals care about. This is an issue that has charged the campus. This is a situation where we have made a choice, where we are acting on that choice, and we are seeking to influence you on that choice to act. Wesleyan is not dodging the moral responsibility. The students, faculty, and alumni who make up Wesleyan have chosen to act on behalf of the janitors. It is you who must take the role as President of the University and act. I don't want to present to you the numbers that are involved, the amount of money Wesleyan receives daily from contributions, from investments, from tuition fees, etc. To think that you are serious about the issue of 'cost' in one of the richest, most educated, most politically minded, and most gifted school in the country reduces everything to the pettiest level of ignorance. I urge you to take action. Brian Cheigh Co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Alliance Copyright © 2000, Wesleyan University |