Serioulsy, how much longer before this guy moves on or retires.

Well, how empty would the Griz gear racks at the bookstore be if UM swore off Asian child labor? How many students at UM would show up to class barefoot tommorrow if the students swore off sneakers made with child labor?
How many mountain bikes in the bike racks at UM do you suppose were not only made in factories with poor labor practices, but also were made with -- gasp!!-- metal. Metal that was gouged from the earth for some kid's two-wheeled status symbol?
I'm not saying I want 12-year-old kids to sew the labels on my Nikes, but I'm sure not doing anything about it and neither is the majority of people out there. To come knocking on Dennison's door with this crap seems to be setting the bar quite a bit higher than the rest of us are willing to set it personally.

interesting how you lump mining in with forced child labor. and the connection is?

oh wait, i get it - you've got yours, so f**k the rest of 'em, and here's an idiotic 'argument' to reinforce my (me mine) point!

Not sure if the fascist label should be directed at Dennison, or the student disrupting the university to advance their ideology.

Was it not the students that were cited for trespassing and disorderly conduct, whom held a sit-in in Dennison office, so they could advance their cause, in an illegal action.

That in my mind is fascist, not Dennison action of not recapitulating to nine student and eighteen unnamed faculty, forcing their ideology on others.

More than anything I would not like to see the UM get listed with the likes of the universities supporting this workersrights group.

I would find it non fascist, not to purchase items from companies that are using these sweatshop activities, not disrupting a college campus trying to form the world to your liking by force.

argh! wrote:interesting how you lump mining in with forced child labor. and the connection is?

oh wait, i get it - you've got yours, so poop the rest of 'em, and here's an idiotic 'argument' to reinforce my (me mine) point!

And I'm the one lumping things together?
My point is we're all dressing, riding, eating, etc., things that are byproducts of practices we oppose. That always seems to get conveniently ignored whenever someone is put on the spot to clear an ethical bar few of us do.
Those students challenging Dennison look well fed. Do you suppose they've eaten anything lately that was picked by some, underpaid, poorly housed, uninsured migrant worker?
Do they ride bikes? And if they do, are they sure the parts on that bike weren't manufactured in factory employing kids considered too young for factory work in the United States? And speaking of that bike, how do these kids feel about the way the metal in that bike was extracted? That metal that's then assembled in a country with labor policies they also don't approve of.
We live in a culture made comfortable by riding on the backs of people who aren't. That includes you, Argh, assuming you're not growing your own food, weaving your own fabrics and walking barefoot everywhere you go. I'll bet even the saddle on that high horse you're riding is dependant on someone elses misery, someone who's doing the heavy lifting so you can find time to criticize others for not doing the right thing.

recapitulating?

WA Griz wrote:

argh! wrote:interesting how you lump mining in with forced child labor. and the connection is?

oh wait, i get it - you've got yours, so poop the rest of 'em, and here's an idiotic 'argument' to reinforce my (me mine) point!

And I'm the one lumping things together?
My point is we're all dressing, riding, eating, etc., things that are byproducts of practices we oppose. That always seems to get conveniently ignored whenever someone is put on the spot to clear an ethical bar few of us do.
Those students challenging Dennison look well fed. Do you suppose they've eaten anything lately that was picked by some, underpaid, poorly housed, uninsured migrant worker?
Do they ride bikes? And if they do, are they sure the parts on that bike weren't manufactured in factory employing kids considered too young for factory work in the United States? And speaking of that bike, how do these kids feel about the way the metal in that bike was extracted? That metal that's then assembled in a country with labor policies they also don't approve of.
We live in a culture made comfortable by riding on the backs of people who aren't. That includes you, Argh, assuming you're not growing your own food, weaving your own fabrics and walking barefoot everywhere you go. I'll bet even the saddle on that high horse you're riding is dependant on someone elses misery, someone who's doing the heavy lifting so you can find time to criticize others for not doing the right thing.

so you admit dennison is not doing the right thing?

oh, and thanks for the lesson on where my food and clothes come from. didn't know that.

spsyk wrote:More than anything I would not like to see the UM get listed with the likes of the universities supporting this workersrights group.

That's just a little funny ... considering that those are all schools that most people from UM (and MSU) aren't smart enough to get accepted to.

Yeah ... hate to be associated with institutions like that.

I just love how dejected the kids in the picture look! It looks like they are about to cry.

There is also no way that the Administration is going to take a hit on the revenues the book store and licensing make, it is a cash cow for the U.

Alright, the idiot has arrived and I am fully prepared to execute my role as resident stupid question asker.


Maybe it's because I just got done driving for 7 hours and just had about 3 fingers of Irish Whiskey, but I don't understand why Dennison is being criticized so harshly here. If he has to wait for the DOJ to sign off, he has to wait for the DOJ to sign off. Don't you think that Dennison consulted with Aronofsky before making these statements? Shouldn't the criticism be more rightly directed at the DOJ if they are slow with an opinion?

my comment was more about the way he acted in the meeting than his decision. sounds to me like he was a total ass, when instead he could have explained his position calmly and coherently. but he didn't.

probably, the students smudged one of his pricey asian tea cups, and he felt like he had the right to throw a fit.

Yeah, I agree with you on that. I am not as critical of GD as some, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about something like this. He choose the wrong way.

I can understand him being pissed, though. I don't understand why the students didn't just schedule some time with him to sit down and articualte their concerns in a rational way. Instead, they pull this maneuver - while he is in China, no less - and then he has to come back and go "WTF?"

That said, it's still incumbent upon him to at least attempt to locate the high road; he didn't really do that here.

Bay Area Cat wrote:

spsyk wrote:More than anything I would not like to see the UM get listed with the likes of the universities supporting this workersrights group.

That's just a little funny ... considering that those are all schools that most people from UM (and MSU) aren't smart enough to get accepted to.

Yeah ... hate to be associated with institutions like that.

Wasn't meant to be funny, although not surprised at your reaction.

Do you know as a fact, or is it an assumption that students from UM or MSU would not be accepted by those fine institutions of higher education.

As far as being associated with institution like that, speaking for my self, for once you are right.

argh! wrote:recapitulating?

fascist ?

spsyk wrote:Do you know as a fact, or is it an assumption that students from UM or MSU would not be accepted by those fine institutions of higher education.

Don't know it as a fact as that would be impossible unless all MSU and UM student applied there to test the statement.

But knowing the average test scores of the students at UM and MSU, and knowing the general minumums accepted at those schools, it seems very, very, very likely that my assumption was correct.

Bay Area Cat wrote:

spsyk wrote:Do you know as a fact, or is it an assumption that students from UM or MSU would not be accepted by those fine institutions of higher education.

Don't know it as a fact as that would be impossible unless all MSU and UM student applied there to test the statement.

But knowing the average test scores of the students at UM and MSU, and knowing the general minumums accepted at those schools, it seems very, very, very likely that my assumption was correct.

Do you suppose that some of those Montana students, need some affirmative action, to gain admission.