At the Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 15, it seemed that some actions spoke louder than At the Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 15, it seemed that some actions spoke louder than words.

Shortly after the meeting began, five student activists entered the boardroom of the Nittany Lion Inn and stood silently in the back of the room displaying signs that read "DSP NOW!"

Their signs referred to the Designated Supplier Program (DSP), an agreement they say would better the conditions for workers in factories where university apparel is produced.

They stood in protest throughout University President Graham Spanier's opening address until Board of Trustees chairperson Cynthia Baldwin told the students they were being disruptive and asked them to leave.

"You are being disruptive of this meeting," Baldwin said to the students over the microphone. "I would request that you please be seated. There are other avenues to address your concerns."

The protestors quietly left the meeting after Baldwin's statements.

Groups of students have been after the university to sign the DSP agreement for months, including several highly visible protests last spring and one this fall.

Olivia Guevara, co-founder of Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) and one of the students who took part in the protest, said so far their pursuit of "other avenues" has yielded no results -- not even several requests to meet with Spanier.

Logically, the students took the next step -- they went to the Board of Trustees, the university's overlords, who promptly told the quiet and non-disruptive students to leave the room or sit down.

The Board of Trustees is supposed to have Penn State students' best interests at heart -- they are meeting for the students. They should be talking to as many students as possible.

Here's just a few suggestions on how to actually do that: Schedule an open forum at the beginning of the four annual University Park meetings so students can tell you what's on their minds.

Invite a student representative.

Let us have a government to relay our concerns.

We know you're busy. We know this is a big campus with a diverse student population, but most municipalities, even those with populations greater than 50,000, manage to do it.

And please, take us seriously. There is nothing more hypocritical of a "student-centered university" than telling five active students to sit down or leave.