As a new semester begins, student activists at colleges across Ohio are rallying against Senate Bill 1, the sweeping state law overhauling higher education.
Members of the Ohio Student Association are asking students to wear black clothing to class Wednesday at 10 campuses, including Kent State University, Sinclair Community College and Case Western Reserve University.
Organizers said these “blackout” events will show students are “mourning” changes the law brings to colleges, including a requirement to end diversity, equity and inclusion (or DEI) offices and programs.
Students also are trying to send a message to administrators, according to Sabrina Estevez, president of Ohio State University’s OSA group.
“They’re failing students with the way they’re handling everything right now,” she said of Ohio university leaders.
College students were regular fixtures in Columbus as Senate Bill 1 made its way through the state legislature. Many testified during hours-long hearings and conducted protests at the Statehouse. Public university presidents, though, remained silent.
This marks the first full semester since Senate Bill 1 went into effect in June. In addition to ending DEI work, the law also requires faculty to publicly share their class syllabi, mandates a new American civics course for students and demands colleges get rid of academic programs with low enrollment.
How Senate Bill 1 became law
In an online petition, the group asked school officials to not “overcomply” with the law, instead urging them to “act in the interest of students rather than in fear of the legislature.”
Leaders at Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati faced pushback from students this spring when each university moved to close DEI-related offices before Senate Bill 1 officially became law. Universities have also faced related pressures from the federal government, though no laws have changed.
Republican leaders said the state needed Senate Bill 1 to get rid of what they view as colleges’ longstanding liberal bias. Critics worry the legislation will stifle free speech and make campuses less attractive to both prospective students and employees.
Many of those critics, including faculty members, shared their concerns during the legislation’s contentious path through the Statehouse. But despite the opposition, the bill passed both chambers with ease. And though some student activists pleaded with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to veto the legislation, he signed it into law March 28.
A final longshot referendum effort headed up by three Youngstown State University faculty members failed a few months later.
