Penn State Students Want Transparency on University Ties to Natural Gas Industry

For all of you tired of rioting Penn State students angry that their football coach would be fired for not reporting an alleged child rape to police, take heart in another protest planned for next week in Happy Valley. This protest is more celebratory than hostile, and it likely will not result in the tipping of television news vans. These students and their environmental friends from across the state will rally to mark their winning vote in last Tuesday’s election. State College voters approved a referendum to ban natural gas drilling in the borough. The campaign was primarily led by former and current PSU students.
But they too have a beef with the PSU Board of Trustees. The group Groundswell wants the men and woman on the board to disclose all funding the school has received from the natural gas industry and “its effects on the objectivity of this taxpayer-funded state university.” That rally will take place outside the Marcellus Summit 2011 at the Penn Stater Conference Center on Friday, November 18. Unlike the Joe Pa supporters, these students promise to be peaceful and non-confrontational.

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