UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, September 14, 1994
5A
Greeting card causes Muslim protest
Continued from Page 1A.
Saeed, who is subsisting on water, fruit juices and vitamins, said he would continue to strike until the company recalled the card and issued a formal apology.
Yesterday, Michael Murray, vice president of operations for Recycled Paper Greetings, said that the company would neither recall the card nor apologize for its contents.
Alfred Hamilton, marketing manager for the company, said the card contained no explicit insults toward Shites.
"Did we make a word play?" he said. "Yes. But it's not a declaration that Shities are human excrement."
Get-well cards normally are reviewed by a board of three to six people before they are printed. Hamilton said. Some of the issues examined in the review process include whether the card reasonably could be capable of causing harm and whether the card glorified inhumane behavior.
Hamilton said the company had received about 150 complaints so far about this card, but that many cards elicited complaints from customers.
"We get calls about six to 10 times a month from people complaining about our cards," he said.
The backs of most cards contain a statement of the company's philosophy, which reads: "Our cards convey the sophisticated humor, old-fashioned friendliness and expression of care so important to our customers."
Invitably, Hamilton said, that philosophy meant that occasionally people were offended by cards.
"We certainly did not intend to offend anyone with this card," he said.
Muslims have a sense of humor, said Ibrahim Hoop, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C. But this card went too far.
"When humor crosses the line into religious bigotry, it is wrong." he said.
Hooper drew an analogy to a fictitious card showing a picture of Auschwitz, a World War II concentration camp, and reading, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire." Few people would disagree that such a card was offensive. Hooper said.
Hooper said the council would begin calling other religious organizations across the country to draw support for a boycott of the company.
"Right now we're organizing weekly protests," he said. "Last week, around 30 people protested in front of the company's headquarters. We're also beginning to contact non-Muslim leaders."
The card has been on sale since last September in more than 2,800 stores in the United States. Hooper said that the council had become aware of the card only in the past month because Muslims generally did not buy cards from non-Muslim card stores.
Rashid Malik, Lawrence graduate student who is Muslim, said he morally supported Saeed's hunger strike.
Malik said that although the strike might draw attention to the card and increase its sales, the protest was necessary.
804 Mass
Consumers should not support products that degrade others, he said.
"If we allow it to happen to someone,
else, it will eventually happen to us."
SUNFLOWER
GTAs hope verdict will come soon
Continued from Page 1A.
Murtaugh, who has coordinated much of the GTAs' efforts, said the GTAs' actions would be guided by GTA unions at other universities.
Murtaugh attended the Coalition of Graduate Employees Organizations Conference this summer. GTAs from 35 universities attended the conference, and there, KU formed a coalition of graduate student employees with five other universities. The coalition is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.
"The coalition will help us immensely," Murtaugh said. "When we begin unionizing, the American Federation of Teachers will help us carry this out."
Unionization, however, could be far in the future. Murtaugh said the appeals process could delay a final settlement of this case indefinitely.
"Ideally, we could form a union and begin negotiating contracts by next year," he said. "But if this is appealed all the way to the Kansas Supreme Court, this could drag out for literally years."
What happens next:
Kansas Public Employees Relations Board hearing examiner Monty Bertelli will recommend whether KU graduate teaching assistants are public employees. Once the recommendation is made:
Either the GTAs or University of Kansas administrators could appeal to the entire Kansas Public Employees Relations Board.
■ Either side could appeal the board's decision to district court.
n Either side could appeal the district court's decision to appellate court.
Either side could appeal the appellate court's decision to Kansas Supreme Court.
Source: Kansan staff reports
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