Their coat hangers glinted in the sun, shining reflections of the danger women put themselves in before the days of Roe v. Wade, and the danger that could return in South Dakota should the state’s recent ban on abortion not be overturned.

About half a dozen pro-choice students met in front of Hendricks Chapel at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, holding signs protesting ‘Bush’s war on women’ and handing out pins with coat hangers on them as part of a day of solidarity with the women of South Dakota.

‘We’re concerned that they aren’t going to have enough choices,’ said Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood President Nicole Mackie. ‘Not everyone has enough money to go to the next state over.’

The lone male of the group, sophomore biology major Geoff Parks, said though he sometimes feels awkward and gets raised eyebrows for his involvement in pro-choice issues, he hopes that more men will realize that choice is a societal issue.

‘It’s hard for me to stand there and accept women being told what they can do with their bodies,’ Parks said.

Though several students protested and a few others stopped to get information, Vox has been hit by the apathy gripping the SU campus.

‘It seems people are so disinterested in causes,’ Mackie said. ‘People don’t think it affects them until it’s here.’

n The Student Coalition on Organized Labor held an information session to promote SU’s recent involvement with the Designated Suppliers Program, a national program that will allow schools to choose from a set of fair-labor factories for their clothing production.

‘It’s really amazing because it’s turning the whole apparel industry on its head,’ said SCOOL member Nick Cavanaugh.

The organization reformed last spring after temporarily dissolving; it was originally founded in 1998 to support striking SU service workers. The group continues to work for fair labor and economic practices.

‘We’re trying to connect where this affects people,’ Cavanaugh said. ‘These are our clothes we’re wearing from our university.’

Published on April 3, 2006 at 12:00 pm