8A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY HAILY KANSAS
MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2007
COMMUNITY
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Protesters, including one dressed as an angry Burger King massot, participate in the March for Fair Food on Saturday. Lawrence residents, including KU students, marched to show support for the Coalition of Immokalae Workers in Florida, whose memembers recently demanded higher wages from Burger King, the company that pays them. The marchers brought a letter with the workers' demands to the manager of each Burger King in Lawrence.
Florida workers want it their way
BY SASHA ROE
sroe@kansan.com
They marched through Lawrence with tomato signs that said, "Justice," and signs that resembled the Burger King trademark but said "Exploitation King." One protestor even dressed as the Burger King himself, except his costume's face showed an angry smile. Lawrence Fair Food, Kansas Mutual Aid, and the lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice organized Saturday's event, the March for Fair Food, to benefit the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida.
Rachel Raya, Hutchinson sophomore, said she participated in the march as community outreach for her sorority Sigma Lambda Gamma, the largest Latina-based sorority in the U.S.
The march started at 9:30 a.m. at the Burger King located at 1100 N. Third St. Spectators honked and held up peace signs to show support for the group as it marched to the Burger Kings on Sixth Street and 23rd Street. The group delivered a letter that explained the reason for the protest, to the manager of each restaurant. The letter demanded that Burger King increase the wages of workers by one cent per pound of tomatoes.
"It's important to us because of the significance to our culture," Raya said. "We've done similar things for community awareness and really enjoyed them."
The marchers chanted, "What do we want? Fair Food! When do we want it? Now!" the group consisted of a combination of students and Lawrence community members. Each protestor had his or her own reason for why the march was significant.
To other protestors, the march was about showing support for the farm workers in Florida.
"We're expected to be mindless consultants," Cori Fischer-Hoffman, Philadelphia graduate student, said. "We should ask, 'Where does this food come from?'
Gerardo Reyes, a member of the CIW, accompanied the group on the march. Reyes' family still lived in Mexico, but he said his co-workerr and friends in Florida supported him on his trip from Florida to Kansas. With the help of a translator, Reyes said he wanted fair wages for the workers. He said the wages had been frozen at the same rate since 1978. He also said the workers had no benefits, contract or protection.
"Justice must be an ingredient for a company that profits off of the misery of its workers," Reyes said.
As reported in Friday's The University Daily Kansan, Keva Silversmith, Burger King's vice president of corporation communication, said the restaurants had negotiated with the CIW for the past few years. Silversmith said that the coalition had requested Burger King write a check to the organization, but that the company had declined.
A manager who worked at all three Lawrence Burger Kings would not give his name, or comment on the march. When protestors handed him the letter, he thanked them and requested that they didn't come into the restaurants.
The group then requested assistance from the Lawrence Police Department. Police officers rode bicycles and walked alongside the group, and drove to the Burger King locations. Sgt. Michael Monroe said the police had to respect both the marchers and the restaurants. He
said the march had been peaceful at the Sixth Street location.
"They made the agreement to stay on the city sidewalks while they march," Monroe said. "When they deliver the letter we think its safer to do it outside the restaurant."
The march ended at the 23rd Street Burger King, where protestors sat on the restaurant's lawn and ate free hamburgers and veggie burgers provided by the Ecumenical Christian Ministries.
Reverend Thad Holcombe of Ecumenical Christian Ministries, said that he was pleased with the turnout and with the work done to bring about cooperation between Burger King and farm workers.
"It is important for one group not to be in a position of power over another." Holcombe said. "We must sit at the same table."
Edited by Chris Beattie
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
One of the protesters participating in Saturday's march holds up a sign demanding a one-cent wage increase for farm workers in Florida who work for Burger King.
BY DYLAN SANDS dsands@kansan.com
Pink is the word at Salon Hawk in the Kansas Union. The hair salon is offering students a chance to promote breast cancer awareness while adding a bit of
"Breast cancer affects so many people. Helping out can be a life-changing experience."
EMILY HARRIS
Salon Hawk owner
Salon adds a touch of pink
flair to their 'dos. It's selling pink hair extensions and donating all of the proceeds to a breast cancer awareness fund.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Emily Harris,
owner of Salon Hawk,
said the Fusion hair
extensions
were just like the ones movie stars wore. Harris said her salon would also donate $3 for every purchase of color dye to a general cancer fund.
"Breast cancer affects so many people," she said. "Helping out can be a life-changing experience."
Harris said she thought students should get more involved with such charities as Breast Cancer Awareness month approaches in October.
Lauren Murray, St. Louis junior, recently purchased one of the extensions.
"I do anything to help out with cancer awareness, and I think the pink hair is a really creative and unique way of doing that," Murray said.
》 BREAST CANCER
The hair extensions cost $10 and are available through October.
Lauren Murray, St. Louis junior, waits while getting a pink hair extension put in her hair Saturday afternoon at the Salon Hawk in the Kansas Union. Proceeds from all sales of pink hair extensions through October will be donated towards breast cancer research.
Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
lifetime. The Institute anticipated 1,444,920 people were diagnosed with some form of cancer this year alone. It recommends recognizing risk factors, following a healthy diet and exercising as ways to prevent cancer.
According to the National Breast Cancer Coalition, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States and worldwide. The National Cancer Institute estimated that U.S. women had a 1-in-8 chance of developing invasive breast cancer during their
Car can't stand the summer HEAT?
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