During the past semester, the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) have certainly made their presence known.

They've played wiffle ball in Old Main.

They've dressed up in garbage bags, insinuating that Penn State administrators have treated their voices as trash.

And most notably, they've dumped a pile of valentines addressed to Penn State President Graham Spanier in Old Main -- all in an attempt to earn the university's support of the Designated Supplier Program (DSP), which would force factories to give their workers a living wage and respectable working conditions.

And even after all that, USAS and SLAP are still exactly where they've been for years now -- working to get Penn State on board with the DSP.

Penn State has unequivocally refused to sign the DSP, waiting for the Department of Justice to rule the DSP free of any anti-trust issues before offering its support. That's left the debate at a standstill in University Park. And now, with that in mind, USAS and SLAP must reevaluate their tactics.

Penn State won't budge -- that much is clear. The university is waiting for an objective ruling, and that's a fair reason to wait. But that doesn't mean USAS and SLAP should continue to tread water with their usual off-the-wall antics.

Now is the time to switch to a grassroots movement. Old Main has repeatedly refused to listen. But maybe others will.

There are plenty of shops downtown that sell Penn State merchandise. USAS and SLAP should target those businesses and earn their support of the DSP. If those business owners refuse to sell merchandise that is not DSP approved, that would hit Penn State where it hurts most -- its wallet.

USAS and SLAP should also continue to speak with the about 40 other universities that have already lent their support to the DSP. They need to find out why those universities believed they needed to support the DSP, even without Department of Justice approval.

Then they should come back to Penn State with concrete results -- petitions, suggestions and sound reasoning. We commend USAS and SLAP's dedication, but let's stop this style of protesting for the sake of protesting. Show you really believe in the DSP and show it with something concrete. Obviously, that's what Penn State wants.

And if USAS and SLAP can achieve that, then Spanier will no longer be able to label the student activists' antics as "rude and inappropriate," as he did in a letter last week.

Instead, he'll be forced to listen this time -- not to mention Old Main will safe from errant wiffle balls and copious valentines.