Members of anti-sweatshop groups held a "welcome back" party on the steps of Old Main Friday afternoon, complete with a 33-inch cake and appearances by university administrators.

Last week, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) members sent Penn State President Graham Spanier a handwritten party invitation. On Friday, they set up a table outside Old Main and cut slices of a large cake reading "Welcome Back Spanier" and "DSP."

For at least four years, the groups have been calling for the administration to sign the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP). The DSP would require Penn State apparel to be produced in Worker Rights Consortium-approved factories.

Later, wearing colorful party hats, members of USAS and SLAP entered Spanier's office to deliver him a piece of cake.

Though Spanier was in a meeting, members were greeted by an unexpected guest outside Old Main: newly appointed Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims, who invited them to a party of his own this Friday.

Sims, the former associate vice provost for student affairs at Indiana University at Bloomington, said Indiana had pledged support for the DSP's principles during his time there and said he wanted to meet with students on the issue. At Friday's event, he handed students invitations to a meeting this week.

"Other universities have signed letters supporting the principles of the DSP, but no designated suppliers program exists," Sims said. "I want to talk to them about what it is they're trying to achieve and make sure they know [the DSP] doesn't exist."

Members of USAS and SLAP said they appreciated Sims' invitation, although the groups have contended in the past the DSP does exist.

"We were aware of his history at Indiana," USAS member Megan Quinn (senior-biology) said. "It'll be interesting to hear what he has to say."

Inside Spanier's office, Associate to the President for Administration Tom Poole accepted a piece of cake for the president.

"It's just more of the same," Poole said. "We expected we'd see them early. They're fine; they're good kids."

Last year, USAS and SLAP staged several controversial and often unconventional protests in and around Old Main. Protests included a wiffle ball game inside the building, a rally during which members pulled trash bags over their heads to symbolize the administration's perceived attitude toward them and a sit-in inside Old Main that led to 31 charges of defiant trespass.

Spanier said earlier on Friday that he had spent time this summer "working with national leaders on the apparel manufacturing issue" and wanted to "bring students up-to-date on recent discussions."

"The issue goes beyond a handful of students," Spanier said. "It's a university-wide issue that everyone should be concerned about."

As USAS and SLAP members handed out pieces of cake to passersby, some students' reactions were mixed.

"I love cake," Sean Snyder (senior-philosophy) said, laughing. "[The party] seems more effective than their previous tactics, which seemed to piss off the administration more than anything else."

Ben Matthews (senior-civil engineering) said he disagreed with the groups.

"Honestly, I think that they'd be the first ones to complain if all the prices went up in Penn State clothing [as a result of sweatshop-free policies]," he said.

Quinn said she thought the party went well.

"People are so very supportive," she said. "We're trying to engage the administration but also engage the community."

Sims, who complimented members on their homemade cake, said he expects student protests.