Heather Hughes/THE POST Students sign "Free Tibet" petitions behind the mock refugee camp set up by Students for a Free Tibet near Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. The organization, which was formed recently at Ohio University, protested yesterday during the 40th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising.

Ohio University students might have noticed more than just the snow while walking through College Green yesterday afternoon - they also might have eyed the mock refugee camp set up by members of Students for a Free Tibet.

Students camped on College Green because yesterday was Tibetan Uprising Day, and this year marks the 40th anniversary of the event, junior Becca Donadee said.

"It is a day of awareness and getting the word out," she said.

The idea of a refugee camp started in the national office in New York, Donadee said. There are more than 260 Free Tibet organizations holding similar recognitions, she said.

At the mock refugee camp, members of Students for a Free Tibet collected signatures for a petition to free the Panchen Lama, a Buddhist monk.

The Panchan Lama, the second most important spiritual leader in Tibet, was illegally abducted by Chinese officials in 1995, Donadee said.

He is being held captive as the world's youngest political prisoner, she said. He will be 10 years old this April, she said.

When the Dalai Lama dies, the Panchan Lama will lead the search for the next Dalai Lama, and he cannot do that if he is a prisoner, senior Sarah Pollex said.

"He is kind of like the teacher of Tibet," she said.

Another main issue of Students for a Free Tibet is awareness of Tibetan destruction by the Chinese.

Since 1949, 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed by Chinese people, which is about one in six Tibetans, senior Christi Keaveny said.

The Chinese also have destroyed more than 6,000 monasteries, Donadee said.

Students for a Free Tibet want students to understand that the United States could do a lot more to help this situation, Donadee said.

The United States could cut off all imports from China, which would put a big strain on China's imports and would not seriously affect this country, she said.

Members of Students for a Free Tibet also are participating in a boycott against Levis Strauss and Co., a clothing manufacturer based in San Francisco, Calif.

Earlier this year, the company eliminated one-third to one-half of its American work force and opened a new plant in China, Pollex said.

The boycott is in response to the Chinese destruction in Tibet and Chinese human-rights violations, she said.

The main idea behind Students for a Free Tibet is "general education about Tibet and Buddhism," Donadee said.

"It is very important people realize the Tibetan struggle is a nonviolent one," she said.