What We've Been Up To
As our members evolve and shift from year to year, Oxfam exhibits a history of subtle changes under a constant, overarching mission: sustainable solutions to poverty and injustice.
2005-2006
Founded in the Fall of 2005, we worked to establish a group of student activists on campus. That year, we worked with Bon Appetit to sell a fair-trade coffee line in Cherry Street Market and began efforts to expand fair trade sales to other locations on campus. We also hosted our first hunger banquet on campus, in partnership with the National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness that was hosted on campus.
2006-2007
Fair Trade Advocacy
We continued to build on our previous work with Bon Appetit by adding fair trade options in more locations across campus, including the Side Bar, Bottom Line and Hawk’s Nest Bistro. We also worked with Caffe Vita to encourage them to produce a new fair trade line. During the Spring quarter, we helped Coffee Farmers in Ethiopia during their negotiations with Starbucks. They eventually won the right to trademark their regional titles and receive fair prices over the summer.
No Dirty Gold
During the Winter and Spring quarters, we engaged Jostens Incorporated in a conversation about the gold they use in SU Class rings. In May, their Vice President and Director of Communications both visited SU to speak with our club. While they did sign on to the Golden Rules (www.nodirtygold.org), we continue to work with them to develop more ethical practices.
Hunger
The Second-Annual Hunger Banquet, held the week before Thanksgiving, was hugely successful. We had nearly a hundred students in attendance and encouraged many new members to support our ongoing work.