This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Julie Alderman

While some politically active students are fighting to keep the president in the White House, others are working to make sure two other famous D.C. residents stay right where they belong.

A petition, titled Keep Mei and Tian, was started by writer Laura Lebow in Cambridge, Mass. to gain support for keeping the District’s highest profile pandas at the National Zoo after their cub died unexpectedly last month.

Female Mei Xiang, 14, and male Tian Tian, 15, are on loan until 2015 from the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The pandas would be allowed to stay in D.C. should they produce another cub.

“One of the reasons panda fans were so delighted when Mei Xiang gave birth to her cub was that it meant that she and Tian Tian would be staying at the Zoo,” Lebow said.

The zoo may be able to request one or two new pandas if Mei and Tian are not able to reproduce. This fall, zoo officials will meet with colleagues in China to discuss options for the future.

Mei gave birth to Tai Shan in 2005. She has since had five false pregnancies.

The petition asks that the zoo keep Mei and Tian for as long as China will permit, even if they never produce another cub.

“People have come to know and love Mei and Tian as individuals, not just as representatives of their species,” Lebow said.