This letter is in response to "Fashion show raises fair labor issues" (SN 10/26). I do not understand why an unofficial event where six people congregate in front of the administration building is considered a "fashion show."

The Students for Economic Justice, or SEJ, is a joke. Their intentions are good but their success is minimal. This "fashion show" is a classic example of symbolism over substance.

Digress: The SEJ wants to end child labor and inhumane working conditions. Well, this is a noble idea but what are they really accomplishing? The answer is not much. Even if the SEJ can get MSU to sign on to the Workers Rights Consortium, or WRC, code of conduct (very unlikely), the amount of inhumane labor will not be diminished one bit. Given the high demand for cheap labor and the high volumes of people willingly agreeing to work for such low wages, sweatshops will always be around.

The SEJ claims to fight for economic justice, but events such as its "fashion show" are no more then hollow events that accomplish little. Does the SEJ seriously think the policies of MSU will make China, a country of more than one billion people, close down even one sweatshop? I don't think so.

It is easy to fight for a cause so far away when you live a comfortable life in East Lansing. SEJ enter the real world and get off your high horse.

Joseph Ryzyi
political theory and constitutional democracy senior