This morning, we relocated to the main lobby with the assurance from the Administration that we would be allowed to stay there until 5 pm. After hearing wind about our 4:30 rally and the amount of media presence we pulled through, they decided to conveniently close the office early today at 4:15. They closed all the blinds to prevent anyone from seeing and used the backdoor.

We were promptly arrested around 4:30 pm.

Throughout the day, the Administration had no hesitation about arresting us. Within minutes of our entrance this morning, our legal observer was kicked out, and the cops were at the front door. We were threatened with arrest if we tried to use the bathroom. In schools where other sit-ins occurred, arrest was the last resort, the last thing either party wanted. We were never even given a chance. What does this tell us about our school, a school that would rather arrest its own students than talk to us?

We were prepared for the consequences; but we were unwilling to compromise our morals, putting ourselves on the line to ensure that our University does not compromise its morals. We are disappointed that President Hennessy would choose to arrest students for fighting to make our university a more ethical institution. This university teaches us to be responsible global citizens; we acted today with the utmost integrity: fighting for the integrity of workers across the world. Today we owned up to our responsibility, only to face punishment.

Why did we sit-in? We had to. This sit-in was not something we wanted to do, but an action we felt we had to do. In the last three months, the Sweat-Free Stanford Campaign has had six meetings with the administration and presented them with the findings of over a hundred hours of economic research. Meeting after meeting, no decision has been made. Our demands are simple: We do not want another meeting. We want a decision. President Hennessy has all the information he needs to act, and we hope that he will make the right choice.

Thank you to everyone who supported us today. Thank you to the students who ran from White Plaza to the President's Office as they carried us off in cuffs. Thank you to those who called and emailed the Office of the President, supporting our efforts and our cause.

The sit in may be over but the fight is not over. Now is the time to resist. If we put enough pressure on the Administration, we can win this. Show President Hennessy that it is not ok to arrest students for fighting for justice. Show President Hennessy that you support a sweat-free Stanford. Keep the momentum going, because we will not relent.

Do I feel any different now that I've been arrested? No, not really. In the words of my sit-in comrade, Scott: I realized while sitting in that wagon that I didn't feel any different with those handcuffs on me than before.

The 11 students who were sitting in were arrested at 4:30pm as over 100 students watched and chanted in support. These were our friends and we cannot believe that Hennessy arrested his own students for taking a stand on an issue by doing a sit in. We will be holding a vigil at 8pm in White Plaza, not only for the garment workers, but also for our fellow students who were arrested today by their own university.

A student approaches the doorway and explains that he has a very important meeting scheduled with President Hennessey at three o’clock. Upset and a little nervous, the secretary shakes her head no. Nobody knows who the student is. Does this mean that Hennessey is actually on campus? It is pretty unlikely that they would double schedule the president for two “very important meetings� at the same time. Where are you Hennessy, would you really rather arrest us than talk to us?

The cops are going upstairs to pee, while we are forced to hold it. They told us that there are public toilets outside, but we cannot be let back in. We are prepared to pee in our pants.

Maureen Powers refuses to let us use the bathroom, telling us that she will charge us with trespassing. The police have told us they don’t think there is a bathroom in the building; although there is a bathroom in the office upstairs. Many of us need to pee… Please call 650-723-2481 expressing your support and demanding that they let us use the restroom!

The administration refuses to grant us negotiations. Ms. Powers vigilantly stands three feet away from our group, reading a paper, preventing us from continuing our discussion freely. Hennessy cannot meet with us today because he is in a non-Stanford related board meeting and will not be back at his own school all day. As President of Stanford University, it seems like he is prioritizing his other affairs over the concerns of Stanford students and the integrity of the institution.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us at the campus wide Sweat-free Rally! We will NOT leave the President's Office until he decides that Stanford will join the Worker Rights Consortium and the Designated Suppliers Program. We have another rally at 4:30 to show support for the sitters! Please come at this crucial time to prevent the administration from kicking us out of the building!

We are sitting in a circle reading poetry and personal testimonies of sweat-shop workers.

Here is an excerpt from the story of Ms. Vi, a sweat-shop worker for Daewoosa Ltd:

“Another male worker was pinned to the floor and repeatedly beaten at the temple, his blood spilling all over the floor.�

Students are sitting in outside in a solidarity sit-in throughout the day. Please come by the office and show your support! We could use a high-five now through the window and then!

We have been very conscientious and respectful of the office, vacuuming and cleaning up with duct-tape any debris we may have left.

Read about us!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/22/BAGDDPVEE14.DTL

Students marched from the rally in White Plaza to Main Quad to support the sit-in. The students inside have been threatened with imminent arrest. Over 70 students are chanting to support those on the inside, who can be seen through the lobby windows and who are very happy to see us. Please come out to support, we will be in the main quad for as long as the sit-in continues.

This morning, at approximately 11:40 am on Tuesday, May 22, 11 Stanford students, along with two legal observers, entered Building 10, the Office of the President and occupied President Hennessy's private office. Marching in single file, with a bag of kitty litter hung over the shoulder, the students took a straight path from the front door to the office, and proceeded to sit in a circle facing inward, singing the trade-mark Sweat-free Stanford Song:

We take the first step for Justice,

We take the second step for Humanity,

We take the third step for Stanford,

Let's join the WRC! Let's join the DSP!

We orally delivered a written statement of our demands to the Office of the President, that the University joins the Worker Rights Consortium and the Designated Suppliers Program. We also assured the administration of our commitment to "a peaceful demonstration", an act of non-violent civil disobedience.

We were immediately confronted by administrators who threatened us with the "consequences", and asked us for our names and ID cards. We continued to sing our song together, raising up our volume along with our spirits.

We 11 students were joined by two legal observers, clearly marked by black arm bands and placards on both the front and back. Our legal observers are present to neutrally document our protest, and do not take sides or participate in our action. However, within 10 minutes, the administration forced our legal observer to leave because she was not a current Stanford student, depriving us of an important legal protection mechanism.

We were asked to leave the private office of the President and to relocate to the lobby, which was made clear to us was a public space until closing time at 5pm. We refused to move, because we had been shuffled around by the Administration for far too long. Over the past year, we had been having six meetings after meeting with no progress. The President has told us that he will not issue a decision to join the WRC until June. We are tired of this waffling and pushing the students around. We know that Hennessy has all the information and integrity to make the right decision. We decided to stay in the office.

Within 15 minutes, the police had been summoned and were waiting outside the office, ready to cite us if we did not leave the private office. It seems like the administration had no qualms about handing over their police to the police.

Only after an ultimatum of arrest did we decide to relocate to the lobby. We were all very careful not to let our bags damage any personal property. We left marching again in single file, singing the people's choir:

We are here with our demands

Join us now to take a stand

Say yah yah yah

Yah yah yah yah

During our song, the administration interrupted us, politely asking that we be considerate of the people working in the office. We continued our song in a softer volume.

Now we are currently waiting for the students of Stanford University to show us their support at the Sweat-free rally. This movement cannot succeed by just 11 students. We need the support of all the campus!