Ohio universities are closing their LGBTQ+ centers to comply with a state DEI ban
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Senate Bill 1, which is set to go into effect on June 27, doesn't just impose a sweeping DEI ban on state universities, but also restricts their ability to "endorse or oppose, as an institution, any controversial belief or policy, except on matters that directly impact the institution's funding or mission of discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge."
Related: What is DEI, what does it mean, and why are companies really getting rid of it?
As a result, several colleges have shuttered their LGBTQ+ centers and related services. Ohio State University has so far closed two DEI offices, cut 16 staff positions, and took down its website offering support to LGBTQ+ students. The link is now deactivated, though the Internet Archive shows the page was active as recently as May 25, as reported by Signal Ohio. The University of Toledo has also discontinued nine undergraduate majors in response to the bill, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Meanwhile, Kent State University announced that it would be shutting down "several identity-based centers," such as its LGBTQ+ Center, Women's Center, and Student Multicultural Center. KSU is also ending its LGBTQ+ Living-Learning Community, which allowed queer students to live together, while stating "all other university academically based Living-Learning Communities will continue within our residence hall system."
"We understand these centers and the Living-Learning Community have been powerful sources of connection, support and growth, and we acknowledge the emotional and personal impact this change may have on many members of our community," wrote Eboni Pringle, KSU's senior vice president for student life.
Related: Iowa State students hold 'funeral' for LGBTQ+ center shut down by anti-DEI bill
The ACLU of Ohio has maintained that the law violates students' and universities' freedom of speech, with Policy Director Jocelyn Rosnick saying in a statement that "as students nationwide witness the ongoing assaults against their First Amendment rights, it is disheartening to see Ohio's own legislators follow suit in this dangerous pattern of stifling political discourse."
"By dismantling DEI structures, Senate Bill 1 sends a clear, harmful message to students that their unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are not welcome in Ohio," Rosnick said. "Further, the exceedingly vague and contradictory language regarding the banning of so-called 'controversial beliefs or policies' creates a slippery slope for faculty and administration. This could lead to faculty avoiding any such topics in classrooms for fear of retaliation."
"Institutions of higher education must remain places where academic freedom and diversity can foster – not be censored," she said.
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Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
LIZ PEEK: Trump declares war on woke—and this beloved museum is in his crosshairs
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We seek to spark positive social change and build a more equitable shared future through interdisciplinary scholarship, creative partnerships, dialogue, and engagement." AMERICAN HISTORY WON'T BE DISPLAYED 'IN A WOKE MANNER' AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS The museum website states as its purpose: "The increase and diffusion of knowledge about the history and legacy of racism while building pathways towards a more equitable shared future." To be clear: these are not the notes attached to a single exhibition or presentation. Racism is the Smithsonian's central theme, stretching across its 21 museums, libraries and even the National Zoo. Most Americans probably thought the Smithsonian was dedicated to presenting to the world our nation's greatest art and our proud history, showcasing the brave souls who explored and settled the nation, who fought a war to free the slaves imported from Africa, who defeated fascism in World War II and the Soviet Union in the Cold War. They might expect the Smithsonian to highlight American exceptionalism, including our country's leadership in technological, medical and financial innovation – like the Wright Brothers' daring development of airplanes and the Apollo moon mission, for example. CNN'S JENNINGS SAYS SAME CRITICS OF TRUMP'S SMITHSONIAN REVIEW WERE CHEERING DESTRUCTION OF MONUMENTS IN 2020 They would be wrong. Applauding our country is so yesterday. Instead, the museum's vision is to use "history and reconciliation to contextualize and transform our understandings and responses to race and racism." That won't cut it under President Trump. The White House recently wrote to the Smithsonian's secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, announcing a planned review of the museum's exhibitions and materials, aiming "to ensure alignment with the President's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions." Liberals are outraged. The Wall Street Journal quotes Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, saying the White House's effort was an affront to the historians and curators trained to ensure historical accuracy. "If those things are taken out of the hands of historians," according to Weicksel, "the public stands to lose a great deal in having reliable and engaging content that tells a whole and complex story of the American past." WHITE HOUSE REVIEWING ALL SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM, EXHIBIT CONTENT BEFORE AMERICA 250 CELEBRATION IN 2026 The "whole and complex story" of America told by our leftist intelligentsia is invariably unflattering. Our nation is portrayed as racist, misogynist and exploitative in college curriculums and by historical societies. Our children are taught not to love our country, but to despise it. The existence of liberal bias on college campuses is undeniable; our leading historians are similarly leftist. Consider Pulitzer Prize-winning Jon Meacham, who, while spinning out his liberal interpretations of U.S. history, acted as Joe Biden's speechwriter and booster, said this in a speech at the 2020 Democratic convention: "Our democracy is under assault from an incumbent more interested in himself than he is in the rest of us." There's also registered Democrat Doris Kearns Goodwin, another Pulitzer awardee, who worked for LBJ, admires Hillary Clinton and once claimed Trump "doesn't have the temperament to be president." CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION Lonnie Bunch III, registered Democrat, the first African American director of the Smithsonian and founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, fits right in. When confronted by Republicans in Congress about a graphic posted online by the African American history museum in 2020 that described "hard work," "individualism" and "the nuclear family" as part of "white culture," Bunch simply noted the offensive item had been removed. As the New York Times reported, Bunch wrote, in an introduction to an exhibition called "In Slavery's Wake," that a "strong current of political leaders wants to prevent the public from engaging with Black history, which they deem 'too divisive,' and create a culture of silence." Defaming our nation is expensive. Taxpayers coughed up $1.09 billion last year, more than triple the $350 million appropriated in 2000. The increased budget hasn't attracted bigger crowds: in 2000 the Smithsonian reported having 40 million visitors, compared to only 16.8 million last year. In 2000, attendance was boosted by "standing-room-only shows," according to the annual report, like the Natural History Museum's Nordic blockbuster, "Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga." Another stand-out was the Star-Spangled Banner's conservation lab and exhibit, which drew nearly half the museum's visitors. Some of today's exhibitions at the National Museum of American History include: "Latinas Report Breaking News," a "bilingual exhibition [that] showcases the work of seven Latina journalists on Spanish-language television" and "American Enterprise," which chronicles the "tumultuous interaction of capitalism and democracy…" The three featured objects on the homepage include: a table used to draft a declaration of women's rights, an 1861 badge that "may" have belonged to a bricklayer in South Carolina who joined an independent African American volunteer fire company, and a sign that hung outside a D.C.- based community health center founded by "nurse Maria Gomez, a Colombian immigrant, to serve pregnant Latina immigrants." 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New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
California park ranger fired after helping hang transgender pride flag on popular Yosemite monolith
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UPI
5 hours ago
- UPI
Trump upset Smithsonian shows 'how bad slavery was'
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