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1 ' 'mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm " NOVEMBER 9,2°™ volume cxxnu issue u Students protest campus discrimination and apathy m BY OMAR AVEDANKE On Friday, Stetson students gathered in front of the CUB in disapproval of the recent wave of bias-related attacks on campus. With support from the Cross Cultural Center, approximately 75 students, joined by faculty and staff, hoped to spread their message of acceptance and accountability. Despite low turnout, those who did attend were pleased with their efforts. The protest was quickly organized in response to an incident that occurred on October 30 during Family & Friends Weekend, when a student was the target of homophobic attacks for the second time this semester by the same group of students. Aubrey Burris, junior, was at the protest and said she was angry about the general sense of inaction the university has taken, not only in this instance but in the past. She stated that she was "tired of Stetson's Judicial Affairs overlooking acts of discrimination and sweeping them under the rug." Duncan Jerrett, President of CCF, and other members of the organization also attended on behalf of their organization to "make a stand and say that religion is not a valid conduit of hate. The message should be about loving everybody regardless of who they are," said Jerrett. Not all students were in support of the protest, however. A student who requested to remain anonymous admitted that while the protest was "great," he felt "that some of it is being done for personal reasons and some organizations like Kaleidoscope aren't here, which shows that they don't support what is going on." Josh Messinger, junior, refused to comment on the matter as he watched from afar, joining Sigma Phi Epsilon President Brian Tolin, who also refused comment because he was "directly involved." This, however, didn't stop him and members of his fraternity from watching the protest from the sidelines and making rather pointed remarks about the proceedings. see PROTEST, page 3 ^K • Ssll* •''•■ |^^^^ £ ■::'■•-'if • m m • • «k m m toot d ■ar m m m mm am ■> m ■ ■■• ■ '■*"*r . T- - -■ -a - U Greenfeather sweeps through Stetson Last Friday, in front of the CUB, twelve sets of empty water jugs were set up in a line, ready to receive coins that would later be counted as points for different student organizations represented by the jugs; pennies would count for positive points, and silver change for negative. The "Penny Wars" was one of the many events of Greenfeather, a community outreach program designed to involve students in raising funds for local charities and businesses. Every year since 1952, Stetson University has hosted this program, which consists of a series of events and competitions that involve various student groups. This year, and in years past, BYM. EZRA KEITH a majority of student groups have been fraternities and sororities, but the Greenfeather coordinators do hope to involve a wider variety of student groups in the future. Greenfeather, through registration costs and funds raised through events, usually raises roughly $15,000, and after expenses, awards grants of around $1000 to ten student-selected local charities. The Greenfeather team has an additional goal this year: raising approximately $2,500 to support the creation of a Greenfeather program at a different school. see PENNY, page 3 INSIDETHIS ISSUE: HJOAMOAL AID £0TYDU DDWM? LET'S TALK ABOUT S-E-X Stetson food supplier comes under fire for low wages Recently, the company that supplies all of your school's food services has come under fire at the national level. Just last month, Sodexo workers at Tulane University in New Orleans went on strike over unfair labor practices of their employer, leading rallies with the theme of "Poverty on Campus: Served up by Sodexo." The campaign aims to increase the wages of workers, who sometimes can earn as little as $7.75 an hour according to Service Employees International Union. Many cannot even afford basic health care. Sodexo's website boasts of its large volume of 6,000 clients in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the 10 million customers served every day, and its annual revenue of roughly $7.7 billion (during the 2008 fiscal year). However, dig a little deeper and one finds numerous lawsuits filed against Sodexo regarding discrimination and hazardous work environments. In fact, Clean Up Sodexo, an organization dedicated to "shedding a new light on Sodexo," has an entire section of its website dedicated to the company's anti-worker record and discrimination cases. For example, in April 2005, Sodexo agreed to pay $80 million to settle a race-bias civil suit filed against the company by thousands of African-American workers who claimed that they were not allowed to progress in the ranks of the company because of their race. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration along with other agencies found 160 safety violations since 2000, amounting in penalties of more than $200,000. The website also lists other incidents including employee exposure to toxic chemicals that cause asthma, severe burns from uncovered cooking oil, and bone fractures caused by faulty machinery. Sodexo's website never mentions any of any of these lawsuits. However, it does reference an award it won BY ELEANOR ROY for being "one of the world's most ethical companies," which seems ironic for a company with such a sketchy history. At this point, you may find yourself asking why workers here aren't on strike like other Sodexo employees. This is because Stetson University appears to be one of the major exceptions to this trend of dissatisfaction among workers. "I have a great team of people" said Helen Cox, general manager of food services. "We don't really have a lot of staff turnover." see SODEXO, page 3 dMtttMfeHHIil