The Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Student Senate has passed a resolution expressing outrage over the abuse of farm workers picking tomatoes sold to and used by Taco Bell. The resolution is the result of a three-year campaign by Students Against Sweatshops GVSU. The resolution, amended after a meeting two weeks ago, does not call for the removal of Taco Bell but rather demonstrates student concern over the issue and acknowledges that there is a problem with the treatment of farm workers in Immokalee, Florida. The resolution calls for a number of actions to take place by February 1, 2005–a letter sent from Student Senate to Taco Bell expressing outrage over the issues, a letter from GVSU President Mark Murrary to Governor Jeb Bush of Florida about the legal inaction on the issue, and a request for responses from both Taco Bell and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. After February 1, 2005 a committee will be formed to evaluate the new information and make a recommendation to the Student Senate as to whether or not Taco Bell should be removed at which point the issue will be voted on by the general assembly.
In other “Boot the Bell” news, Cal State University-San Bernardino became the 21st school this week to remove Taco Bell from campus. In a two-year campaign activists got 1,500 signatures and the endorsements of three student and faculty bodies asking for the removal of Taco Bell.
