More than a year has passed since nearly 1,100 workers at the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh were buried and crushed to death beneath its eight stories.

Five factories, all of which were sweatshops that produced garments for multiple U.S. retailers, had been housed in the building, primarily employing young women and “child helpers.”

Most of the victims in the April 24, 2013, tragedy — about 80 percent of them — were women between the ages of 18 and 20 , the age of the young students seen walking around MSU’s campus on a daily basis.

Today, sweatshops are still a major problem in Bangladesh and other countries. But the horror of what happened at Rana Plaza sparked a demand for change and acted as a catalyst for MSU students to fight for the rights of the workers in Bangladesh.

A national campaign for the  Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was proposed soon after the Rana Plaza incident. The Accord was written to hold brands with factories in Bangladesh legally responsible for the safety and well-being of their employees. With a push from MSU’s chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops, MSU agreed to cut licensing agreements with any company that refused to sign the Accord.

However, JanSport, the sole licensee that refused to sign the Accord, is still tied to MSU.

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh

Many of the different Bangladesh factory employees are young women between the ages of 15 and 25 . Each worker makes and is expected to live off of $68 per month. However, a year ago that number was $38 per month.

The MSU chapter of United Students Against Sweatshops brought the national campaign “End Death Traps” to campus last year. USAS includes chapters from around the country who all partake in the same goal of fighting for workers’ rights around the globe.

Several universities nationwide also participated in the campaign, which was meant to push the different schools to prompt their licensees to sign the Accord.

Global studies in the arts and humanities junior Kaitlin Lenhard said an open communication with the university was initially difficult to maintain, but, at this point, communication has improved.

After about a year of the organization’s meetings, protests and letters to university officials, they received a copy of a letter that MSU officials had sent out to their licensees.

The letter stated that, as of June 1, 2014 , all licensees that produced MSU apparel would need to sign the Accord. If they refused, the license would be terminated.

“We were really excited when MSU made the decision,” said international relations and economics junior Megan Haugh.

Haugh is the regional organizer for USAS, and was one of the first four people to start MSU’s chapter about a year ago with the “End Death Traps” campaign.

“It’s a big deal, but it was also somewhat disappointing that it took them so long,” Haugh said. “I think when other big universities made the decision it put pressure on them.”

A disappointing victory

Haugh added that the victory was disappointing, because it didn’t feel like a total victory in the end.

JanSport, a subsidiary apparel and backpack company of VF , is still licensed with MSU — even though VF Corporation sources from 90 factories in Bangladesh and has 190,000 employed workers within those factories.

USAS wrote to the university about this and received a response from Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises Vennie Gore on October 3.

“Our policy here at MSU is that any licensee who makes or sources MSU apparel needs to sign the Accord,” MSU spokesperson Jason Cody said.

Gore’s response stated that every licensee that sources, produces or purchases MSU apparel in Bangladesh is required to sign the Accord. Because JanSport itself does not make or source MSU apparel from factories in Bangladesh, they were not required to sign the Accord.

USAS members continued to ask about the status of JanSport’s license, even posting a photo of a slice of turkey on the Facebook page for MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. Written across the turkey in black ink were the words “Go cold turkey.”

“The point is that it’s extremely hypocritical,” Haugh said. “(The university) claims they don’t support sweatshop labor, but when it comes to a technicality they continue to provide support for one of the companies that did not sign the Accord.”

VF Corporation and JanSport

Lynsey Jones , the director of responsible sourcing for VF Corporation, said the company refused to sign the Accord because they signed a different agreement —  The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which was established in 2013.

There are 26 other North American retailers and brands who signed the Alliance, including Target, Wal-Mart and Kohl’s.

Jones said they signed the Alliance instead of the Accord because many of the customers the company is used to working with had already signed it. She added that, at the end of the day, both the Alliance and the Accord are committed to the exact same thing.

She said she agreed with the university’s decision to continue licensing with JanSport.

“JanSport is not manufactured in Bangladesh,” she said. “If you look at the two organizations you’ll note that the safety of workers is a top priority. As VF Corporation is part of the Alliance, both organizations have done a lot.”

However, the National and International Campaign Coordinator of USAS Julia Wang said the two agreements have more differences than initially meets the eye.

“The Accord claimed from the beginning to do these things,” she said. “But for the longest time, the Alliance was not shutting down factories, and over the last year we’ve seen the Alliance struggling to catch up. ... There’s even a clause in the Alliance that says they have no legal obligation to do the things they promise.”

She added that, whether or not MSU apparel is being sourced from these factories, it’s about seeing the worth of the worker as a person and trying to provide them with safe working conditions.

“When it comes to MSU, they pledged to the Accord, not the Alliance,” she said.

Fifteen universities around the country cut their ties with JanSport after VF Corporation publicly refused to sign the Accord — with a strong push from the student body to help.

Haugh said she hopes MSU will be the 16th university to do so.

A call for change

Michael Ferrer , an industrial labor relations junior at  Cornell University, was part of the coalition of various student groups on their campus to push the university to cut ties with their licensee JanSport after VF Corporation refused to sign the Accord.

After six months of rallies and letters, the administration agreed to cut their ties with Jansport during October of this year.

Ferrer said that, above all else, university officials at his school responded to direct action from students. He added that direct action sets a good example to both officials and other students.

“It’s not just about letters and op-eds,” he said. “It’s about making people realize they can make a difference in a strategic way that pressures administrators.”

Lenhard said the MSU chapter of USAS has already held protests and plans on screening a documentary about their cause later in the year. She said everyone is welcome to attend their meetings, which are held every Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. in A203 Wells Hall .

“It’s as simple as attending a meeting,” she said. “Personally, I feel that sweatshop labor is something we don’t talk about. Students need to learn way more about the working conditions and the women who are greatly affected by them. ... People want to make these choices but don’t know where to look — our organization is putting pressure on these corporations.”