Life In a Bubble
Date 10/14/1999 12:00 AM | Topic: OpinionLuther focuses on community, and we have succeeded in creating a happy community here on campus, but should we end there?
It is too easy to let the peaceful atmosphere of Luther determine our awareness, as if we were not part of a global community.
Currently, the most pressing local issue is Super Wal-Mart.
On a practical level, Decorah doesn't need a new Wal-Mart: the existing Wal-Mart is sufficient, the site for the Super-Wal-Mart is further from campus and Decorah, and the current building would be left vacant.
Wal-Mart does not make economic sense: for every two jobs that Wal-Mart creates, the community loses three. Local businesses will suffer, not only downtown, but also local supermarkets and the businesses in the strip mall at the current location. Super Wal-Mart would also have adverse environmental effects.
The proposed site is on a flood plain on the bank of the Upper Iowa river. Altering this flood plain will increase the velocity of the river and raise the chances of flooding. The site would also allow silt, chemicals, and pollutants to enter the river.
In efforts to lower prices and bring in customers, Wal-Mart violates basic human rights. An average Wal-Mart employee makes almost $2,000 (yearly) below the poverty line for a single mother and two children, and over 425,000 employees have no company-provided health insurance.
Less than 20% of all clothing sold in Wal-Mart is labeled "Made in the USA," a large percentage of the rest comes from foreign sweatshops.
Employees in these countries work in unsanitary conditions, seven days a week, some earn only 13 cents an hour, and occasionally work mandatory 24 hour shifts. This is all the result of the largest retailer in the world, which controls almost 15% of the US retail market.
The mission statement of Luther College includes "calling and preparing people to serve in the world.... Luther College is committed to the Christian vision of service. This vision encourages the entire community to deal reflectively with challenges facing human beings in the world."
We have the mission statement, we need to apply it. The reality of Luther-land is all contained in a crystal sphere.
We have a role in the global community. Our actions in this community are a direct reflection of who we are.
In addition to the authors, sixteen other Luther students have signed on to this column
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Liz Pleuss, Adam Perkins, and AllisonTrotman
Guest Column
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