Christine Casale's 12/12 memo assignment
Date: December 12, 2000
To: Mr. Jesse Rosenblum, College Relations
Cc: Corporate and Foundation Relations Office
From: Christine Casale, Member of College Relations Board
Subject: Current Situation and Recommendations for TCNJ’s involvement with Nike
Current Situation: Student groups on campus, such as Students Against Sweatshops
and Amnesty International have expressed their concern about our possible co-
sponsorship with Nike. If the college sponsors the Junior Golf Program with Nike, these
groups plan on protesting. As of now, the College Relations Board has not made a
final decision concerning our involvement.
Recommendations: The board has discussed a number of possible recommendations
that will ultimately benefit the college:
 | The College Relations Board must be careful not to turn this situation into a battle |
between certain administrators and the rest of the campus community. We must explain
that this decision will not be based on the opinions of the board members alone. This
decision will be a reflection of the entire campus. We need to keep the lines of
communication open and available. The board needs to encourage discussion and stress
to every student, faculty member, and staff member that his/her opinion is important.
Therefore, we must urge people to learn more about this situation and get as involved as
possible. As a board, we need to especially welcome the opinions of those that oppose
this sponsorship with Nike. We should make them aware that we are impressed by their
leadership and initiative that has already been shown.
| In an attempt to educate the campus community about Nike and their possible |
involvement with sweatshops, the board can form a research team to gather accurate
information in a timely fashion. We can also e-mail any relevant information about
Nike’s involvement with sweatshop labor. The information we gather can help us as
well as the campus make an informed decision.
| The Planning and Priorities Council will design task forces to see which alternative is |
in accordance with our mission statement. These task forces will further examine the
extent of the college’s responsibility in a situation like this. The evaluations of both
positions will be discussed at the board meeting.
| We can also look to see how other schools deal with corporate sponsorship. Many |
schools around the U.S. have been confronted with this same situation. We can look to
them to get an idea of what the consequences of a decision will be.
| The board can design an anti-sweatshop poll to gather public opinion. We can ask for |
volunteers from various student organizations to work the poll. A large box can be
placed in the middle of the student center. Similar to our campus elections, students will
be given the opportunity to vote on whether we should sponsor the Junior Golf Program
with Nike. Although this poll may only be reflective of those with strong opinions
regarding sweatshop labor, it can still provide us with a better idea of the students’ and
faculty’s opinions on the matter.
| For those that feel they are not educated enough about Nike’s involvement with |
sweatshop labor to cast a vote, we plan on inviting the entire campus to an open
forum in which they can learn more about the situation and voice their opinion. This
meeting could take place in the upstairs of the Student Center. We must send campus
wide e-mails notifying everyone of this forum. We can ask professors, faculty members,
and CA’s to inform students of the meeting. It is very important for us to spread the
word and invite as many members of the campus community as possible. It is essential
that both views are represented. It is especially important that the potential protesters are
invited. This open invitation will hopefully make them feel included in the decision
process. If we draw a lot of people to this meeting, we can get a realistic picture of how
the campus community truly feels about our potential sponsorship with Nike.
| Regardless of the result of the poll, we should still seek alternative funding for the |
event. If the majority feels we should sponsor with Nike, that doesn’t mean our search
for another sponsor should end. Perhaps, we can find a "neutral" sponsor that has no
involvement with sweatshops but can support this program to the same extent as Nike
could. This sponsor may please both groups. We can even look to alumni to sponsor the
event. Since this program involves the local community, maybe we could get more
alumni support than expected. However, we must not choose a sponsor that is going to
turn the Junior Golf Program into an anti-sweatshop rally.
| If the board decides to sponsor with Nike, the college faces the possibility of |
protests. Depending on the extent of the protests, a mediator may have to be a assigned.
A "public relations recovery" in the form of a justification of the event will also be
needed to explain our decision to the public and avoid further bad press.