Today President Gordon Gee of The Ohio State University is cowering in
his office, denying a meeting with representatives of student group
Free the Planet! OSU and fellow supporters of The Grassy Narrows First
Nation. Protesters serenaded the building with a drum circle, chants,
banners, and signs. Chants included: "Gordon Gee, yes you could, stop
buying old-growth wood!" and "Tell me what solidarity looks like! This
is what solidarity looks like!"
About two hours ago, five students at Ohio State began a sit-in to
demand ethical standards for the purchase of wood and paper. Members
of Free the Planet!, a student group on campus, vow to stay until
President Gordon Gee signs an agreement to stop the University from
buying wood products obtained from Indigenous conflict areas and to
include more recycled content in paper and lumber used on campus.
(More about Grassy Narrows here: http://freegrassy.org/
Police are reportedly on the scene, but have not indicated any intent to arrest at this point.
Free The Planet! is scheduled to meet with University administration
on Thursday to finalize OSU's forest resources policy, the students
inside Gee's office are demanding that Gee sign a memorandum of
understanding that will ensure that OSU commit to a strong policy on
Thursday which would include OSU refusing to purchase copy paper that
is sourced from Grassy Narrows - at OSU that means OfficeMax brand
paper.
Support the students by signing on to their petition.
Free The Planet! is also asking supporters to call the President's office to encourage him to sign the agreement:
* President Gordon E. Gee, The Ohio State University - (614) 292.2424

Police are reportedly on the scene, but have not indicated any intent to arrest at this point.

Support the students by signing on to their petition.
Free The Planet! is also asking supporters to call the President's office to encourage him to sign the agreement:
* President Gordon E. Gee, The Ohio State University - (614) 292.2424