Editor's Note: The following statement from Chancellor Ward addresses the Jan. 31 resignations of the three student members of the CLC Task Force Advisory Committee.
Re: CLC Task Force Advisory Committee resignations
February 1, 2000
"It is regrettable that the students serving on the CLC Task Force Advisory Committee have chosen to resign and thereby disengage from the university's shared governance process on this critical issue. This time-honored process gives students, academic staff and faculty all a voice in helping govern UW-Madison. The key to working within this process is to stay at the table and work cooperatively, even if you do not agree with every decision.
"UW-Madison remains committed to ending the use of sweatshop labor. As I announced last week, the university will maintain provisional membership in the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and monitor the development of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) as a possible alternative. UW-Madison will also examine independent monitoring possibilities to build on our pilot monitoring project and augment monitoring developed by the FLA.
"My decision was based on the thoughtful feedback I received from the members of the task force advisory committee, including the students. As we continue to search for the most productive way to solve this human rights dilemma, it is my hope that concerned students will remain committed to open dialogue and working together."