Residence hall students must be heard

Editor:

I thought the previous coverage of the transit proposal was good and accurate. However, I found the article “Transit proposal generates debate” in Tuesday’s paper disappointing. The article seems one-sided and more like an opinion piece than actual journalism.

I am severely disappointed that The Daily Evergreen has completely neglected the voice of the residents, whom by the way, I represent as a member of the Transit Advisory Group as the Residence Hall Association representative. Lack of contact from the reporter seems like a snub toward Residence hall students and that our opinions don’t matter. I feel that the Evergreen should incorporate all views in supposed journalistic efforts.

While another fee may not be on the top of everyone’s list, this is an important issue that does affect every student, either directly or indirectly. Most residence hall students I know don’t have cars and ride the bus to get around town. Transit is an important service that needs not be diminished, which is what will happen if this proposal doesn’t pass.

Pamela Snyder Junior, theatre arts and drama

Column misrepresents concept of fair trade

Editor:

We were disturbed by William Stetson’s March 3 opinion column “Fair Trade isn’t fair for all along production line.” We felt that he misrepresented the fair trade model in its essence and effectiveness.

Simply put, fair trade is an economic model that seeks to provide a living wage for farmers in developing countries by giving a fair price for their goods (most commonly coffee). Transfair USA, the fair trade certifier for venders in the U.S., makes sure that importers are paying farmers at least the agreed upon fair trade base price for their goods. This would suggest that fair trade products must be more expensive.

However, to make the system economical, fair trade cooperatives connect their farmers directly to distributors, effectively cutting out several links of the supply chain. By minimizing these intermediate transactions, fair trade products are sold to western consumers at virtually the same price as conventional items while allowing farmers to make a higher wage from their goods.

Beyond helping to meet the immediate needs of farmers through a living wage, fair trade also seeks environmental and economic sustainability. Importers pay farmer groups a 10-cent premium on every pound of coffee. This money is spent on community and business development projects such as education for the farmers’ children and more efficient business practices for the farmers themselves. In this way the fair trade model supports sustainable economic development.

Fair trade has been proven to be effective through several studies. One excellent example is a case study done by Dr. Daniel Jaffee at WSU Vancouver, which is explained in his book “Brewing Justice.” We would encourage any interested in fair trade to do their own research.

John Maxwell Sophomore, economics and philosophy Liam Corcoran Sophomore, psychology