Ohio University is choosing to wait out the legislative process for Senate Bill 1 before taking action to change or close any Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices or programs.
Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez announced in a statement Monday the university would not be taking early steps as of now to shut down DEI programs, as the pending bill in the state legislature would require. This contrasts with Ohio State University, which chose to shut down its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Center for Belonging and Social Change before the bill has been signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
"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," Gonzalez said.
By contrast, Ohio State President Ted Carter said last week the university was "proactively" closing the offices "so that we can manage this new landscape in ways that best uphold the values of excellence, access and opportunity that we hold dear."
That decision drew the ire of many protestors at OSU who spoke up against the action on Friday, the day Carter officially closed the offices.
Ohio Senate Bill 1, also known as the “Advance Ohio Higher Education Act," will ban most diversity programs and faculty strikes, and requires post-tenure performance reviews, a civics course focused on American history and free market capitalism and "intellectual diversity" in discussion of issues the bill describes as controversial.
Among the programs that could be impacted by the bill are Ohio University's Pride Center, which supports the school's LGBTQ+ community and the Multicultural Center.
Mia Walsh is a fifth-year student at OU studying journalism and woman, gender, and sexuality studies. She was one of hundreds who protested the bill and the university's lack of communication for how OU plans to comply with Senate Bill 1.
Walsh said everybody that uses the Pride Center, Multicultural Center and Women's Center at OU are preparing for the worst. She said she worries about the impacts Senate Bill 1 will have on future LGBTQ+ students.
"I think students are going to die. I think students are going to feel isolated without the knowledge that these centers are always here to fall back on," Walsh said.
Walsh said the Pride Center is important for the resources it provides like connecting people to gender- affirming care, helping find barbers that can give gender-affirming haircuts, and having a clothing closet to give out free clothes that people have donated.
Walsh said she is involved at the Pride Center and is the president of Lavender Menace, an organization for lesbians and sapphic students at Ohio University. She said she is also worried about what impacts the bill will have on student organizations like hers.
Gonzalez, in her statement Monday, was responding to a protest that took place on campus on Thursday against Senate Bill 1. She praised the demonstration as peaceful and well-organized, but did chide some students for skipping class to attend.
"However, Ohio University has always valued and supported freedom of expression and encouraged our students to speak up and speak out," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said there is still a lot of uncertainty, but she has unwavering resolve that Ohio University will always be for everyone. She said a sign at the protest that said “Forever OHIO For EVERYONE" caught her eye in particular.
"In the coming days, weeks and months, we very well may need to think differently about how we keep that promise. I will need your help, your energy and your creativity, and when the time comes, I will ask for it. So be ready. And hold that sign in your mind, as it will be in mine," Gonzalez said.
Walsh said she wasn't happy that Gonzalez didn't come out to greet the protestors and talk to them on Thursday. She said she thinks Gonzalez and OU are just "biding their time" and could change their mind and start complying with the bill.
Walsh said when she saw OSU "over complying" with the bill before it even became law, she thought OU might follow OSU's lead. She said OU did follow OSU's lead during the COVID-19 pandemic with policies like virtual learning, mask mandates and rescinding the mask mandates on campus.
"I really hope that OU isn't heading for that direction, but it seems like it probably will," Walsh said.
More protests are planned at OSU against Senate Bill 1 and Carter's actions on Tuesday.
