There is really nothing so beautiful as the first day of fall. Except, of course, when all it does is bring freezing rain and ominous clouds that usher you to your 8 a.m. class. But there is a remedy to this depressing turn of meteorological events. It is lying there, back in your dorm, in the "winter" section of the closet. Yet when that comfy old wool sweater is found, you wonder if the big poodle pattern knitted into its threads by your grandmother is still "the thing." After consulting your roommate you realize your fashion intuition was right. Wasting no time, friends are rounded up into the automobile as you head for the only place where you are sure that you can find everything you want, and a ton of stuff you don't. The car is headed for the capitol of capitolism, the Mall of America.

Heading for the big name stores first, you enter Abercrombie and Fitch. After being ignored by the workers, you eventually find the sweaters on your own. There it is! The perfect sweater and it fits! Waiting in the huge line offers plenty of time to check out the tag, so you make sure that this thing isn't going to need a trip to the dry cleaners every other day. "Pre-shrunk," "Machine-Wash,"this sweater just keeps looking better, eyes scanning further downward though, they reach the words: "Made in China." Shrugging, you continue in line, make your purchase and return to St. Olaf. Yet as you ruminate over this latest purchase, you wonder what those words mean: "Made in China?" The fact is, they mean a lot.

They mean that there are young people; around our age, most often women, who are being bought into the newest kind of slavery. They are being forced to work from twelve to twenty-four hours a day for far less than what is considered enough for them to survive in their country. If they become pregnant, they can be fired. If they talk about work conditions to humanitarian groups, they can be fired. If they try to use the bathroom too often, they can be fired. And, what if they try to organize to make things better? You guessed it, they can and will be fired. It is not only China though, it is in Burma, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the list goes on. The phenomena of sweatshops are growing across the world and throughout the apparel industry.

This is not an attempt to make you feel guilty about what you wear. As an average kid at St. Olaf, I often end up wearing clothes from places like J. Crew, The Gap and so on. I feel that same guilt of wondering who put what I'm wearing together, wondering if they are okay, if their children are well fed. This is an attempt to show you that here at St. Olaf we have the chance, maybe even the responsibility, to help make these people's lives better. There is a group called Priorities on campus. Among other things, it is devoted to ending the problem of sweatshops. We need the student body's help to make our drive a successful one. We need your help. If you are interested, please contact Patrick Thomas (thomasp) or Caleb Kasper (kasper) to figure out how you can wear your clothes with a clear conscious.

-Patrick Thomas is a Sophomore at St. Olaf.