Ohio Republicans will destroy universities in Ohio with SB 1; vote needed, reader says

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12 hours ago

The innovations that have made America great were not created in a vacuum. In the 1950s and '60s, the United States was the gold standard for university education. State universities provided affordable state colleges for nearly everyone who wanted to attend. They also supported research that benefited their communities. This research led to the U.S. putting a man on the moon, to the eradication of diseases like polio, smallpox, and measles, and to the development of computers, smartphones, and AI.
What made American universities great was academic freedom, which allowed instructors to teach and do research where their interests took them, even though it might not seem immediately useful. It is this pure research that leads to the breakthroughs that result in innovation.
For the last 50 years, the Republican Party has chipped away at institutions of higher learning, clawing back state funding and making colleges more expensive. Senate Bill 1, recently passed by Republicans in the Ohio legislature, will destroy colleges and universities in Ohio. It is a blatantly unconstitutional law, censoring what faculty can teach and what students can learn.
The bill replaces diversity, equity, and inclusion with homogeneous conformity, inequality, and exclusion. It restricts the teaching of 'controversial subjects.' (How else does one learn how to think?) And it will gut academic programs, ensuring that students do not have the knowledge or skills to function in the professions of their choice. It is the purest form of censorship.
It is important to remember that colleges are deeply interconnected with their communities. In many small towns, colleges are one of the top employers. They are drivers of culture, innovation, and growth. If you care about free speech and academic freedom, make sure to sign the petition to put Senate Bill 1 on the ballot so that voters can decide for themselves what kind of higher education they want.
Laurie Finke, Gambier
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Vote needed to stop Ohio GOP from destroying universities, reader says