When college students Lina Musayev and Stephanie Faith Green attended an Oxfam Change Initiative program in Boston during the summer of 2002, they didn't intend to start a nationwide student movement as a result. But that's exactly what happened. During the Oxfam program, which brings college students together to learn about "the root causes of poverty and the power we all possess to overcome them," Musayev and Green first learned about the coffee crisis. They also discovered the benefits of Fair Trade.

"I was convinced on the spot that Fair Trade works and has a great potential to reduce the symptoms of economic, political and social instability in the world," Musayev relates. Because there was no nationally organized student movement for Fair Trade, Musayev and Green, students at George Washington University and Georgetown University respectively, decided to start an organization that would connect all the Fair Trade student groups on campuses around the country. With Lina and Stephanie's elbow grease, help from other student groups and guidance from ally organizations like Oxfam, Global Exchange and Transfair, United Students for Fair Trade was born.

An umbrella organization uniting student Fair Trade campaigns across the United States and Canada, USFT hopes to bring Fair Trade Certified products to as many college campuses and communities as possible. As Musayev puts it, "As students we are working to bring together our values for social justice with our consumption habits and buying power. Fair Trade coffee enables us to put our principles into action every time we buy a cup of coffee. In the hectic life of a student, it's an easy way to make a positive difference in people's lives."

In its short history, the organization has gained a lot of momentum. In February 2003, Georgetown University's student government passed a resolution that calls for all on-campus vending outlets to serve 100% Fair Trade coffee. Similar measures have passed at UCLA and UC Davis and are in the works on many other campuses. In March 2003, USFT held a highly successful kickoff event at the University of Washington in Seattle. The organization also helped raise their profile with a booth at the Specialty Coffee Association of America meeting in Boston in April '03. A constantly growing network, USFT currently represents more than 100 student-led Fair Trade initiatives. "From small liberal arts colleges to gigantic Med. Schools, from our local grocery stores to our parents' offices, USFT is expanding awareness of Fair Trade," Musayev says.

This past February, many USFT student organizers from all parts of the country and abroad converged in Santa Cruz, California, to discuss the direction of the movement. During the event, a few key topics were brought to the table, including: promoting a regional campaign framework; linking movements and mapping the Fair Trade landscape; diversifying the cast of characters; sharing practices; addressing intergenerational fall-off; bridging student-producer divide and situating students in the bigger movement. Four days of conversation, discussion and dancing later, the students, farmers and fair trade advocates were exhausted but excited about the direction of the movement.

By generating demand for Fair Trade coffee, USFT hopes to increase the availability of other Fair Trade CertifiedTM products, such as tea, cocoa and bananas. Musayev recognizes that, "College students have a powerful voice, and I believe we can make a difference." For more information about United Students for Fair Trade and to find out what is happening in your region of the country, visit their website at www.usft.org.

And for more on USFT, check out this article: www.usatoday.com/life/2004-02-15-fair-trade-coffee_x.htm

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