Latest news with #OhioSenateBill1
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kent State to close LGBTQ+, women's, multicultural centers
Editor's Note: The video above is about a peace mural unveiled at Kent State. KENT, Ohio (WJW) — Kent State University will close several identity-based student centers on its Kent and Stark campuses this summer to comply with new state law, the university announced Monday. Effective June 27, the Kent Campus will no longer operate its LGBTQ+ Center, Women's Center and Student Multicultural Center. The Stark Campus also will cease operations at its LGBTQ Resource Center, the University announced in a press release. Motorcycle pulling a camper trailer overturns in fatal crash Although the centers themselves will close, university officials said their physical spaces—including the E. Timothy Moore Center and Williamson House, home to the Center for Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services (SRVSS) — will remain open as general-use spaces accessible to all students. Guidelines for using these spaces are still being developed. In addition to the closures, Kent State's LGBTQ+ Living-Learning Community will be discontinued. Other academically based Living-Learning Communities will remain in operation. '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,' said Eboni Pringle, Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Student Life. The move is in response to new state directives affecting diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities. Read more about Ohio Senate Bill 1 here. 'Once-in-a-lifetime:' When you can see all three Goodyear Blimps together over NE Ohio Students will still have access to resources that support mental health, wellness and basic needs, the university said. 'Our mission remains the same: to foster a campus where every student feels a sense of belonging,' Pringle said. The university also expressed appreciation for the staff and student employees affected by the changes, stating, 'The university places a high value on their contributions.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UC students find home, support at school centers. But Ohio law to likely shut them down
Students at the University of Cincinnati are worried. Their "home away from home," they said, will likely be stripped away from them. As the university dismantles its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order and the recently passed Ohio Senate Bill 1, student identity centers are at high risk of closing. The university has not explicitly said the centers will close, but students and staff believe their futures are bleak. SB 1, which Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law March 28, prohibits state universities from "the continuation of existing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or departments" at any state institution of higher education. The bill also says state universities are not allowed to create new DEI offices or departments or replace DEI offices or positions with ones for the same or similar purposes. Supporters of the bill say it will create an inclusive environment, one that includes conservative voices, and provides equal opportunity to all students. The bill doesn't define diversity, equity and inclusion, also known as DEI, so it's unclear whether the identity centers fall under this term. But similar legislation in other states has caused schools there to close such centers. UC's African American Cultural & Resource Center, commonly called the AACRC, the LGBTQ Center, the Women's Center and Ethnic Programs & Services provide resources for the identities they serve. Friendship. Mentorship opportunities. A safe space. Support. Advocacy. Opportunities to develop confidence. Visibility. Internships. Feeling less alone at a big university. To the students The Enquirer spoke to, this is what the identity centers give them. Although the resources offered by each center are focused on the needs of specific groups, students say they are open to everyone. For Mickell Owusu-Korkor, a fifth-year student studying biomedical engineering, the African American Cultural & Resource Center ensured she had the "college experience." She became involved in the center's peer mentoring program called Transitions. "I've seen a lot of things where people are like, 'Oh, I went to school and it was like, I'd never had that college experience, I never got to know people,'" she said. "I feel like joining Transitions and coming to the center from the beginning definitely erased that from happening to me." While UC has not yet released plans for the identity centers, administrators have met with "those most impacted," according to a statement from Nicole Mayo, vice provost for student affairs. "The most important thing I would wish to convey is our foundational commitment to individual student success. We will welcome every qualified student and provide them with the caring support they deserve – all while meeting our compliance obligations," the statement reads. She said the university will announce a plan as soon as possible. The African American Cultural & Resource Center played a large role in why Genesis Anderson, a third-year pre-law student of Caribbean and African descent, chose to attend the university. "When I was first coming here to UC, my biggest concern was, 'Where is the space for people that look like me?'" he said. He found the AACRC and "immediately" got involved. Anderson said the staff make sure the students there feel safe, advocated for and taken care of. The center also gives students a platform to become student leaders. Kuamka is the center's leadership competition. The Transitions Program offers leadership training, workshops and social and academic activities. Anderson says the African American Cultural & Resource Center helps minority students like him feel seen through its Black Student Graduation Celebration, Tyehimba. The ceremony honors Black graduates before the campuswide ceremony. "I think that ... people fail to recognize it can be challenging on a campus where you're the minority, right?" Anderson said. Not everybody can handle that level of stress, he said, so with Tyehimba, those who "made it through" are acknowledged. SB 1 eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion programs and scholarships, along with preventing faculty from striking and universities from taking a stand on 'controversial beliefs.' It's not clear, according to the language of the bill, whether the African American Cultural & Resource Center and other identity centers count as offices 'designated for the purpose of diversity, equity, and inclusion,' because the bill does not define DEI. Mel Searle, a sophomore who described UC's women's center and LGBTQ center as her "home on campus," said she's not optimistic about the survival of either center. Other universities in the Greater Cincinnati area announced changes. Miami University will close its Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion and relocate its staff within the university. Northern Kentucky University, which is affected by a similar bill in Kentucky, is repurposing its Center for Student Inclusiveness. The center will be renamed the Center for Community and Connections and will be directed to the entire student community, the university said in a release. The departments within the center – African American Student Initiatives, Latino Student Initiatives and LGBTQA+ Student Initiatives − will be dissolved. More: Republicans want to eliminate DEI offices on campus. What do they do? Ohio State University announced April 17 that it would keep its Hale Black Cultural Center and programs open, despite closing two diversity, equity and inclusion offices. Sen. Jerry Cirino, the bill's primary sponsor, said he doesn't "have a definition of DEI particularly," though it "tends" to be "divisive." The Enquirer asked Cirino if there's a pathway for the centers to stay open if they are inclusive. 'It's likely that they would be OK,' said Cirino, though he clarified that he didn't know enough about UC's identity centers to say whether that's the case. More: Despite DEI closures, Ohio State to keep Hale Black Cultural Center and programs open 'If it's proven to be a divisive organization, if it's eliminating and restricting who can participate, you know, then they may have some problems," he said. Students like Anderson were firm that the AACRC does not exclude other students. "Everyone," Anderson said, "is welcome here." Students see ramifications of the law, even though it doesn't go into effect until June. Tyehimba is one of the programs already affected. Typically, the graduation celebrates Black students at Fifth Third Center. This year, however, the University of Cincinnati is not allowed to host the ceremony due to "recent and forthcoming legislative changes at the federal and state levels," the university officials said in the letter. Instead, the local organization Light of the World Church is hosting a similar event at Hughes High School. Owusu-Korkor said the new venue means she can only invite five people to the ceremony. In previous years, students had an unlimited number of tickets. Tyehimba was a chance for students to invite family and friends who would not attend the university-wide commencement, which has a limited number of tickets. Anderson is dreading this change. 'Especially in communities like the Black community, when someone is winning in a family, everybody wants to show up to support," he said. By removing Tyehimba, he said, it's restricting the joy and level of togetherness. Ohio legislators who passed SB 1 maintained that the bill would make Ohio's universities and colleges a more welcoming place for all students. But for Anderson, what drew him to the university is disappearing. 'My younger brother's considering going here," Anderson said. 'All the big things that I was excited to share with him if he were to come here are not here anymore." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Future of University of Cincinnati's centers unclear amid Ohio DEI law
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio college students, educators disappointed in Gov. DeWine for signing higher ed overhaul
Members of the Ohio Student Association held a mock funeral for the death of higher education on March 31, 2025 after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that will overhaul Ohio's public universities. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal). Students donning black graduation robes held a mock funeral for the death of higher education after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that will overhaul the state's public universities. The Ohio Student Association organized the event, which took place Monday afternoon in the Statehouse Rotunda, days after DeWine signed Ohio Senate Bill 1. S.B. 1 will ban diversity efforts, prohibit faculty strikes, regulate classroom discussion of 'controversial' topics, create post-tenure reviews, put diversity scholarships at risk, create a retrenchment provision that block unions from negotiating on tenure, shorten university board of trustees terms from nine years down to six years, and require students take an American history course, among other things. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX For classroom discussion, the bill will set rules around topics involving 'controversial beliefs' such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion. It prohibits professors from 'indoctrination,' and while it doesn't define that, it allows complaints to be filed against professors for review by the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education. S.B. 1 will only affect Ohio's public universities and community colleges. 'It was really surprising, the quickness that it was signed,' said Ohio State University junior Brielle Shorter. 'I think signing it at such a time was really interesting as well, but it was truly heartbreaking.' DeWine got the bill Wednesday — the same day the Ohio Senate concurred with changes to the bill made by the Ohio House — and he signed it Friday. 'As a Black student on campus, our spaces have already been slowly getting demolished,' Shorter said. 'I believe that with this bill there's going to be more changes like that.' Ohio State University is closing its Office of Diversity and Inclusion Ohio State recently closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Student Life's Center for Belonging and Social Change in response to the U.S. Department of Education's Dear Colleague letter that threatened to rescind federal funds for schools that use race-conscious practices in admissions, programming, training, hiring, scholarships, and other aspects of student life. Shorter said she has seen Ohio high school students post on social media how they are no longer interested in attending Ohio universities and instead plan to go to school out of state. Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, said it is unfortunate DeWine signed S.B. 1 into law. 'It's disappointing to see that he did that, even though the overwhelming amount of opposition that was expressed on the bill from faculty and from students and from concerned citizens was strongly against it,' he said. 'I think it's unfortunate to see collective bargaining rights of people who work in higher education diminished.' Pranav Jani, president of Ohio State's American Association of University Professors chapter, said they will fight the impact of the bill as it becomes law. 'We know that we stand with thousands of educators, students, and parents, who are disgusted by this naked display of governmental repression of higher education,' he said in a statement. State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, introduced S.B. 1, which took just over two months to pass both chambers and be signed into law. 'I believe this is monumentally significant legislation that will allow Ohio's public universities and community colleges to deal with looming enrollment challenges and usher in a renaissance of academic excellence,' Cirino said in a statement. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio educators react to executive order to dismantle Dept. of Education
AKRON, Ohio (WJW) – Surrounded by students and governors from across the country, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday afternoon to begin dismantling the Department of Education. 'Returning education very simply back to states where it belongs,' he said. The Department of Education was started in 1979 by then-President Jimmy Carter. Trump said even some members of Carter's cabinet, the Federation of Teachers and well-known Democrats opposed it at the time. How dismantling the Department of Education will affect Ohio schools Now, after spending trillions, he said the department is failing students. According to the White House, math and reading scores for 13-year-olds are at the lowest level in decades and 40% of fourth-grade students don't even meet basic reading levels. U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 in developed countries in math. 'After 45 years, the United States spends more money on education, by far, than any other country, but yet we rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success,' said Trump. But some educators are reacting strongly to the executive and expressing serious concerns. 'At first you're dumbfounded. You think, 'oh, that couldn't possibly happen,'' said Pat Shipe, president of The Akron Education Association representing teachers. She especially worries about those most vulnerable. 'Ninety-five percent of students with disabilities go to public schools, yet the president is dismantling — in essence gutting — the Department of Education which provides much needed services and programs for those children and their families,' Shipe said. Trump said Title I and Pell Grant funding will not be touched and will be 'fully preserved,' and that the goal is to have the states 'work with parents, teachers and everybody else.' Kent State University students protest Ohio Senate Bill 1 to eliminate DEI in higher education Shipe questioned exactly how the state might manage those funds intended for education. 'If you send it to the state, there's no guarantee they'll pass it along to appropriate places to continue all of the incredible programs we have,' said Shipe. 'What's coming out of Columbus is also harmful. Are we going to continue to see more and more unqualified and unlicensed people in our classrooms that are not educators just placed there and told to teach. In a statement, Governor DeWine said the following, in part, 'By giving states more authority over education, we will have the flexibility to focus our efforts on tailoring an educational experience that is best for our children and that meets Ohio's needs, rather than trying to chase federal priorities.' The Ohio Education Associated released a statement Thursday night. 'Across Ohio – in rural, suburban, and urban communities alike – our students depend on the critical programs and services provided through the U.S. Department of Education. More than half of Ohio's public school students benefit from federal Title I programs that help economically disadvantaged learners reach their full potential; more than a quarter-million Ohio students with disabilities rely on services that are possible because of federal IDEA funding; countless Ohioans rely on federal aid to make college affordable through grants and loans; countless others benefit from the many programs the US Department of Education administers every day,' the statement said, in part. 'Make no mistake, every single student in Ohio will pay the price for the move to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Students, community brace for elimination of DEI at Ohio University
Athens County Independent photo from an Ohio University walkout on Feb. 27 to protest Ohio Senate Bill 1. This article was originally published by the Athens County Independent. ATHENS, Ohio — As an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill moves through the Ohio legislature, the Ohio University community is bracing for major changes to the institution, including the possible loss of its Women's Center, Multicultural Center, and Pride Center. Senate Bill 1 passed in the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House and now heads back to the Senate for concurrence before going to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature. It would reshape Ohio's public universities by banning diversity and inclusion programs and practices, preventing faculty from striking, instituting post-tenure reviews for faculty, requiring 'intellectual diversity' in the classroom, and more. The presidents of Ohio University and other public universities jointly decided to stay silent on SB 1 in hopes of gaining a 2% increase in higher education funding in the next biennial budget. But DeWine's budget proposal includes just a 0.1% boost next year. However, students and the public have staged multiple demonstrations opposing the bill in recent weeks, including several in Athens. 'I just can't stop thinking about the students … that are in high school right now and are going to be a part of the new norm that is a university without Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the state of Ohio,' OU undergraduate student Mia Walsh told the Independent after a protest Wednesday, March 12. 'I think of those students, and my heart breaks for them.' Ohio University has already placed the annual Celebrate Women and Black Alumni Reunion events on hold to preemptively comply with changes to DEI at the state and national levels. If SB 1 passes, public universities will have 90 days to become compliant. Patricia Stokes, associate professor in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, said she hopes OU will not comply with provisions in SB 1 any sooner than it needs to. 'SB 1 is all but a done deal at this point, and the university will have no choice but to comply at least with the most clear cut elements of it. But they have a choice as to whether they do it right away or use that 90-day window,' Stokes said. 'I think it's imperative that they allow this to be an orderly transition, so that people who will be losing their current positions can seek other work, either internally or elsewhere.' Ohio University Vice President for University Communications and Marketing Robin Oliver told the Independent, 'Some changes will take time to complete, and we would need to act with urgency to ensure compliance within the 90-day window.' OU declined the Independent's request for comment on specific changes it would implement should SB 1 become law. The university has made multiple public statements on SB 1 without offering any details of the university's planned response. 'These two obligations – to our state and to our mission – are equally non-negotiable and, in many ways, interlinked,' OU President Lori Stewart Gonzalez and Executive Vice President and Provost Donald J. Leo said in a Feb. 12 statement. 'The question, not specifically in light of this proposed legislation but in every situation and every day, is how we effectively fulfill both of these obligations and ensure student success.' In a March 3 statement, Gonzalez referred to the university's elimination of race-based scholarship awards last year as part of an ongoing effort to respond to a slew of federal and state policy changes related to DEI. Gonzalez framed the elimination of these scholarships as an 'action to ensure our scholarships and programming are open to all.' Ohio state Sen. Brian Chavez (R-30), who co-sponsored SB 1, declined to comment for this story, as did Ohio House representative Don Jones (R-95). Ohio House representative Kevin Ritter (R-94) did not respond to a request for comment. While OU declined to comment on specific changes that would result should SB1 become law, The Ohio State University has already begun instituting changes to preemptively comply with the bill, providing a preview of what is to come. At OSU, these changes have included the elimination of its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Center for Belonging and Social Change, and the elimination of 16 staff positions, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Ohio University has three centers as part of its DEI initiatives, including the Women's Center, Pride Center, and Multicultural Center. The centers would likely close should SB1 become law. The bill would prohibit 'continuation of existing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or departments' as well as 'establishing new diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or departments.' Walsh, who is studying journalism and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, said the university's DEI initiatives — especially the Multicultural Center and Pride Center — have enriched her experience on campus. 'I can't disentangle my college career from diversity, equity and inclusion,' Walsh said. 'If I try to imagine my college career without those three things, there's no point in even coming here.' United Campus Ministry acting executive director Ari Faber, also an OU alum, spoke at last Wednesday's protest and said they arrived on campus after being 'kicked out of my parents' home due to my queer identity.' OU's Pride Center was 'instrumental in helping me navigate an incredibly challenging and vulnerable period in my life,' Faber said. Stokes told the Independent that support for students contributes directly to OU's academic mission. 'When we're thinking about … the very kind of core elements of the university's mission — effective teaching and learning — students who have a place where they feel they belong are going to simply do better on all measures of that: grades, retention, time to degree,' Stokes said. The centers also play a direct role in education, said Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies professor Julie White. 'The centers provide educational roles with respect to the student body at large,' White said. 'So, for example, Black History Month, Women's History Month are times during the year when the centers have been really critical to expanding the kind of educational content that happens in some classrooms and making it available to the student body at large.' White added that it is part of 'what it means to be an educated person, to take seriously the experiences of people who are less familiar to you, who have life experiences that are not yours.' Associate Professor of African American Studies Robin Muhammad told the Independent she expects her department will be 'targeted for elimination or restructuring.' 'We're talking about global perspectives, critical thinking,' Muhammad said. 'This is not fringe-y stuff. It is at the heart of higher education, not just in the United States, but the world.' Muhammad said this will affect what students are able to get out of an education at OU. 'If we want to be able to tell students that you're going to be able to compete domestically as well as internationally, with other researchers, with other thinkers, with other executives, then we have to be able to say, 'We're going to give you know the diploma that has the kind of content that will enable you to compete right and converse,'' Muhammad said. 'It's like saying, 'Okay, well, we're not going to teach math.'' White said she is less concerned about the immediate impact of SB1 on academic programs than on OU's diversity centers, citing conversations with university leaders. 'These programs — WGSS and African American Studies, for instance, but also Environmental Studies — perform really important roles in the four year education of undergraduates,' White said. She added that curricula in those programs are 'already recognized by the Ohio Department of Higher Education as accredited' and that 'it's clear' that the programs meet 'degree-granting requirements.' More than 700 people submitted opponent testimony against controversial Ohio higher education bill OU declined to comment on specific impacts of SB1. Tom Hodson, a retired Athens County judge and the Athens County Independent's legal columnist, told the Independent in an email, 'The bill does not specifically say those academic pursuits [in WGSS and African American Studies] must be eliminated but there is enough vagueness that I feel the university will be super cautious.' 'There is enough language in the bill for the university to put those programs on the chopping block,' he added. However, eliminating or making major changes to those programs is not the only way of interpreting provisions in the bill, Hodson explained. 'One of the major problems with SB1 is its vagueness,' Hodson said. 'That will be, I am sure, one of the attacks on it in litigation.' Muhammad said the combined impact of eliminating departments such as African American Studies and closing the diversity centers would 'rob [students] of that intellectual and community-rooted content that students here have just come to expect.' 'Students are under attack.' Ohio State students and faculty rally against controversial bill That work benefits everyone, Muhammad said, and is particularly important in a predominantly white institution. 'We address socio-economic disparity, and if you're in southeastern Ohio and you don't address that, then you're not doing your job,' Muhammad said. Stokes said the bill — especially its provisions around post-tenure review and a student complaint process the bill says is intended to ensure 'intellectual diversity' — could result in a 'chilling effect' in classrooms across the board. Should SB 1 pass, Muhammad will call on OU to minimize disruption. 'It will be strategic for the university, those who are at that particular table, to find ways to mitigate the damage — that's the most I could expect from it at the institutional level,' Muhammad said. Stokes said OU should support marginalized students, including by offering meeting spaces for student clubs representing minority groups and supporting first-generation students and those without access to family wealth. Community organizations are also working to address the likely fallout. United Campus Ministry, for instance, is preparing to host an influx of students, resources, and programming currently supported by OU's Pride Center, Faber said. Community leaders in Lancaster have organized a women's conference in place of the one OU canceled earlier this month, WOUB reported. Meanwhile, Muhammad said, 'What people do on the ground — faculty, staff and students — is to continue to protest, push for, argue for, advocate for not being robbed of the essence of who we are.' Keri Johnson contributed reporting to this story. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
