UN Delegate Sophorn Yang will be speaking to University of Alabama students about sweatshop labor and the important role they can play in stopping it at an event hosted by UA Students for Fair Labor on Wednesday night.
WHO: The event is open and free of charge to all University of Alabama students and members of the Tuscaloosa community.
UA Students for Fair Labor orchestrated the event along with help from the Asian American Student Association, International Relations Club, Women and Gender Resource Center, Blackburn Institute, SGA and Crossroads.
WHAT: Sophorn Yang, who is both a UN Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women and acting President of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade and Unions, is currently traveling to colleges across the country to share her experience working in a sweatshop with students in order to empower them to make a difference by helping mistreated workers internationally. Yang’s talk will touch on several topics, including what life is like working in a sweatshop and the global garment industry in general.
After the talk, there will be a question and answer session as well as an opportunity for attendees to meet and take pictures with Yang.
WHEN: The event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night from 7-9 p.m. The first hour will be Yang’s talk and the second hours will consist of the question and answer session and pictures.
WHERE: Yang’s talk will take place in ten Hoor 30.
WHY: Students will walk away from Yang’s talk with a greater awareness of the perils associated with sweatshop labor and motivation to hold companies who rely on sweatshop labor accountable said Kanisha DiCicco, one of the leaders of UA Students for Fair Labor and a sophomore studying political science.
“As students we have a responsibility to call out brands like Nike over things such as poor working conditions,” DiCicco stated. “And I think this event overlapping with Capstone Creed week is perfect because the creed literally says ‘for individual and civic responsibility’ and I can’t think of a better or easier way to have civic responsibilities than to tell Nike that we don’t want to wear apparel made by people who are abused.”
