Students March Against Apple

About 15 people marched from Lerner Hall to the Office of the Secretary yesterday to present the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bill Campbell, with a petition to protest the unclean environmental practices of Apple Computers.

The "Green my Apple" campaign, launched by Greenpeace in 2006 and brought to Columbia's campus in early November, is specifically targeting Apple's use of toxic chemicals in their products and the poor recycling practices of the company. The group specifically wanted to speak with Campbell because he sits on the executive board of Apple Computers.

"Bill Campbell won't speak to us, and that's a problem because we speak for 850 people," said Lauren Valle, CC '09 and the organizer of the campaign at Columbia.

When the students and Greenpeace workers went into Low Library in an attempt to hand over the petition, they were not able to speak to Campbell. Campbell resides in California.

"It's nice that you want to give this [petition] to him, but this isn't a press op," said a man who worked in the office. "We want to be helpful ... but now is not the appropriate time."

Valle explained at Lerner that the march was not a protest but a pressure tactic to evoke a response from Campbell.

"We're not trying to protest. We just want to fill the office" Valle said, instructing people to walk into Low Library silently and file into the Office of the Secretary. "People presence is really important."

Though Campbell was unavailable, many involved in the march considered it a success.

"I think it went well. They were receptive in the end," Greenpeace worker, Adam Conrad said. "Having the presence of all these people really helped show that people are concerned."

"The most effective thing is that it did create a spectacle," Allison Leonard, CC '09 and participant said.

Valle was also happy with the way it turned out. "It went really well. ... He [Bill Campbell] is going to thank us in the future," she said.

Valle emphasized that the problem would not be forgotten. "We're not going to drop this issue until we get a response," she said. "I understand they [the trustees] have a big agenda and I respect that, but we all have to step outside ourselves and look at some larger issues."