Ohio University will not take preemptive steps anticipating anti-DEI bill
If passed, Senate Bill 1 would prohibit DEI at public universities.
Ohio State University recently took steps to comply proactively with the bill.
Ohio University will not take proactive steps to comply with an anti-DEI law that is making its way through the state legislature, university president Lori Stewart Gonzalez said in a recent statement to students.
If passed, Senate Bill 1 would eliminate DEI trainings and offices as well as prohibit using DEI terminology in job descriptions.
Gonzalez released the Monday, March 3 statement in response to student protests of the bill the week before. Contrary to Gonzalaz, Ohio State University eliminated its DEI offices last week and began reordering its policies to comply with the bill, which the State Senate has already passed.
The Ohio University president had previously released a statement in February notifying students about S.B. 1’s progress in the State Senate but not saying what the university would do in advance of the bill’s passing.
While saying that the university would not take any preemptive steps in Monday’s statement, Gonzalez said that the university would comply if the bill became law.
“You have asked what that will mean for us at OHIO,” Gonzalez writes. “Without question, should this bill pass the House in its current form and be signed into law by the Governor, it will bring changes for all of us. However, to define today the specific changes we might make would preempt the legislative process on a bill that is not finalized.”
Among the potentially soon to become illegal offices that Ohio University maintains are the Pride Center and Multicultural Center.
The Pride Center provides resources for LGBTQ-identifying students, including guidance on how students can change their names or pronouns and tips on how to respect “transgender, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit community members.”
The university also has a Division of Diversity and Inclusion, which “provides programming, education, advocacy, and engagement, and consultation that cultivates inclusive excellence,” according to its website.
The student protest of S.B. 1, which Gonzalez praised in her statement, took place on Thursday, February 27, as The Post, Ohio University’s student-run newspaper, reported at the time. Hundreds of students participated in the protest, which included a walkout from classes around midday.
The students chanted “come outside” and “lousy Lori” in front of Gonzalez’s office.
“We have a big LGBTQ+ community, and I have seen my transgender peers be directly affected by the bathroom bills that are being passed and even the housing situations that are kind of being talked about, but not really being directly explained to students,” one student protester said.
The Ohio House Workforce and Higher Education Committee is currently holdings hearings on S.B. 1.
Campus Reform contacted Ohio University for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
