UPenn Considers Cap, Gown Boycott

PHILADELPHIA--Leaders of most student organizations at the University of Pennsylvania have formed an informal alliance calling for a boycott of Cotrell and Leonard caps and gowns.

The undergraduate assembly ten days ago passed a resolution asking the university to provide an alternative supplier of caps and gowns. Cotrell and Leonard is involved in a major dispute with its workers and the National Labor Relations Board has charged the company with unfair labor practices.

"If we, as Ivy League students, can't understand that it's our obligation to support workers who are getting paid dirt to make our caps and gowns, then that's disgusting," Charles Stempler, a UPenn student, said recently.

Pick and Choose

The university bookstore, which supplies the caps and gowns, has been selling Cotrell and Leonard caps and gowns exclusively for more than 30 years, and store manager Barry Vitlow has said he does not believe a labor dispute warrants a boycott of Cotrell and Leonard products.

UPenn Provost Vartan Gregorian has said the administration should adopt a "neutral stance" on the matter.