On April 15, 50 students and community allies lead by the Ohio State Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) gathered to deliver a message to the Wendy’s location on campus in the Wexner Medical Center: that they will not tolerate OSU’s continued business with Wendy’s; a company which refuses to support farmworkers in their supply chain. As readers of The Free Press recall, Columbus has become the epicenter of a national effort to have Wendy’s join its fast food competitors and join the acclaimed “Fair Food Program”, a partnership between farmworkers represented by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), farmers, and 12 multinational corporations which guarantees farmworkers a substantial wage increase and provides an enforceable Code of Conduct outlining rights routinely absent in agricultural labor. Of the top five fast-food corporations in the nation -- McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, and Wendy's -- Wendy's is the only one not participating in the Fair Food Program. It’s a new twist on a familiar story. The Free Press has been following the work of Ohio Fair Food, the local group organizing with the CIW, very closely. Since October The Free Press, unlike its corporate-backed peers at The Columbus Dispatch, has reported on the demonstrations, vigils, and marches that have been increasing in size and scope. Most recently, fair food allies from across the state and the nation converged in Columbus for an 800 person march through the streets of Dublin to Wendy’s corporate headquarters. Ohio State students have been a vital group supporting the CIW, showing up in increasing numbers at each action. Students have recently started taking matters into their own hands by applying pressure directed at the Wendy’s located on campus. Sara Stanger, a third year in International Studies, President of United Students for Fair Trade, and member of Ohio State SFA states, “We will not stand for our school to do business with a corporation that refuses to serve justice in its supply chain. We need to Boot the Braids from our campus.” “Boot the Braids” is not the first time Wendy’s CEO Emil Brolick has had to contend with student protests. During his tenure as President of Taco Bell, students at colleges and universities around the country mobilized to “Boot the Bell,” successfully ending 25 Taco Bell licensing agreements before the company signed with the CIW in 2005. The Ohio State SFA has been meeting with OSU Administration to discuss ending Ohio State’s lease with Wendy’s. This process which started in good faith two months ago but has slowed down with stalling tactics and no concrete progress on behalf of Administration to move toward justice and Ohio State’s motto: Disciplina in civitatem - Education for Citizenship. In response, Ohio State SFA quickly mobilized students to gather on the Oval, march to the Wendy’s location, and deliver the message there. When the manager on duty refused to accept the letter -- as they are instructed to do from Wendy’s corporate -- the crowd of 50 began chanting “Up Up with the Fair Food Nation! Down Down with the exploitation!”. “If Administration continues to drag their feet and fail to live up to Ohio State’s motto, they can expect that this will be the first of many actions.” said Andrew Lin, a graduate student in Environmental Science, “We will continue to put public pressure on OSU to do the right thing and end their business ties with Wendy’s who to this day refuses to support farmworker justice.” Indeed, as protestors marched out of the Wendy’s, the last thing they heard was the united cry “We’ll be back! We’ll be back!”