Dressed in a green-and-white striped shirt, khakis and dress shoes, Jose Godinez was only missing one item from his outfit — a tie.

Reaching into his backpack, Godinez pulled out a few pairs of scissors, a roll of tape and paper ties sporting the word “Adidas” in bold, black letters.

He passed the paper ties and scissors out to the three other members of United Students Against Sweatshops standing with him on the steps of Hendricks Chapel, and the students began taping the ties to their shirts.

The students gathered to protest Syracuse University’s ties with Adidas. The sportswear company has refused to pay more than $1.8 million in severance pay to 2,800 former PT Kizone factory workers in Indonesia.

On March 1, SU Auxiliary Services sent a letter to Adidas saying university officials will contemplate terminating the licensing agreement between SU and Adidas if action is not taken in 90 days. But Godinez, an undecided freshman in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said the university needs to do more.

“Every day that the university waits to cut the contract with Adidas is another day that workers in Indonesia don’t get their severance pay,” he said.

The protest was planned for Wednesday because March 27 marks the 12th anniversary of SU joining the Worker’s Rights Consortium, a labor rights monitoring organization. But the time of day made it difficult for some students to show up, and members of the media outnumbered the four protesters.

The group planned to walk down the hill to the chancellor’s office in Crouse-Hinds Hall to deliver a letter from the group asking the school to end its relationship with Adidas, as well as cut the paper ties to symbolize SU cutting its ties with Adidas.

“Remember,” Godinez said as the group got ready to set off, “when I say ‘today,’ cut the ties.”

The members started down the hill, all four side by side, clutching fliers they handed out to passersby.

Godinez led the way into Crouse-Hinds, crossing the lobby to the elevator as the other group members trailed behind him.

When they finally reached the chancellor’s office, the group members arranged themselves in a line outside of the door.

“When I say ‘today,’ cut the ties,” Godinez reminded them again, shuffling the papers for the speech he planned to make.

A minute later, Peter Englot, associate vice president of public affairs, walked out of the office and greeted the group on behalf of Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Kevin Quinn.

Godinez introduced the group and started his speech.

In his speech, he said the group understands the steps the university has taken to address its relationship with Adidas, but thinks further action is needed.

“We believe the only way to apply pressure is by ending the contract with Adidas,” Godinez said. “So we must demand dignity and respect from Adidas. Let’s make change and cut ties with Adidas today.”

Right on cue, the group members took out their scissors and cut the paper ties taped to their shirts.

The only one who missed the cue was Godinez, who fumbled with the scissors and cut only partway through the tie before Laura Kleinberg had to reach over and rip it in half.

“Thank you for meeting with our representatives over the last couple days and for contributing to the thought process as we do what we all think is the right thing,” Englot said after the speech.

Despite the small turnout, Kleinberg, an inclusive early and special education and child and family studies major, said she considered the protest a success.

“We were definitely nervous about this. Everything’s happening so quickly. This is a very new club, so we didn’t realize how official things were starting to get,” she said. “I’m excited to see what happens.”

Published on March 27, 2013 at 11:58 pm

Contact Jessica: jliannet@syr.edu | @JessicaIannetta