Protestors at Thursday’s meeting hold signs criticizing Les Wexner and Board of Trustees member Elizabeth Kessler, whose father Jack Kessler co-founded The New Albany Company with Wexner in 1987. Credit: Reegan Davis | Lantern Reporter
The Ohio State Board of Trustees meeting was adjourned Thursday after Dr. Richard Strauss survivors, members of the Ohio Nurses Association and Columbus residents protested Les Wexner’s affiliation with the university and called for some board members to resign.?
Around 20 protestors arrived outside the Longaberger Alumni House at noon, an hour before the meeting was scheduled to begin. During the meeting, which lasted 12 minutes, university President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. also addressed calls to remove Wexner’s names from campus buildings.
The protesters stood closely to the side of the board, where they held up signs depicting Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein, in addition to photos of board members, John W. Zeiger and Elizabeth P. Kessler, calling for them to step down.
“We’re here specifically [today] to ask John Zeiger and Elizabeth Kessler to resign,” Steve Snyder-Hill, a Richard Strauss survivor and one of the leaders of the class-action lawsuit against the university, said. “These are also the people [who] are deciding litigation, so it’s just a conflict of interest.”
Strauss was a physician for the university from 1978-98, and abused at least 177 students, mostly male athletes. He died by suicide in 2005. Ohio State is currently facing the lawsuit brought forward by more than 500 survivors addressing how the university handled Strauss’ record. So far, Ohio State has settled with 304 survivors, per prior Lantern reporting.
Snyder-Hill stated that the Board of Trustees has the final decision to remove Wexner’s name from the university buildings.?
“Ultimately, if you read through it, the process is [that] the Board of Trustees has to approve a name removal,” Snyder-Hill said. “You just have to go through a lot of steps before [you get to] Wexner’s lawyer and his best friend’s daughter to [decide] take his name off there.”
The meeting was previously slated to take an hour. According to the agenda, the board was supposed to discuss the renovation of north campus dorms, Taylor, Drackett and Jones Towers.?
Though the renovation plans were approved, they were not discussed during the meeting.
Snyder-Hill requested time to speak on the agenda, though not guaranteed for approval by the board.?
“While the Board of Trustees may, at its discretion, invite speakers to address specific topics, our meetings do not include a scheduled public comment period,” Jessica Eveland, the secretary of the board, said in an email to Snyder-Hill on Monday. “The Board will not be adding speakers to the March 5 agenda.”
Lucas said that the lack of public comment can translate negatively, especially with large-scale situations like Wexner.?
“I think it’s a real miss that they’re denying an opportunity for students, nurses, health professionals [and] the survivors to speak to them and address them,” Lucas said.
The only discussion included general opening procedures and comments from Carter, who made note of the university’s recent achievements, like the new University Hospital Tower and research funding.
Additionally, Carter addressed the calls to remove Wexner’s name from campus facilities.?
“I recognize the strongly held views on this issue and I understand that for some, these conversations are deeply personal and sometimes painful,” Carter said. “We respect the rights of our students, faculty and staff to express their views, including the recent Undergraduate Student Government resolution.”?
USG passed a resolution supporting the removal of Wexner’s name on campus Feb. 25, per prior Lantern reporting.
Carter also expressed his gratitude to the Wexner family and their impact on Ohio State.?
“I also want to recognize the extraordinary years of service that Abigail and Les Wexner have given to Ohio State,” Carter said. “We appreciate the significant impact they’ve made on this university, our medical center and the broader community.”
Zeiger then called for the board to approve the items on their consent agenda by roll-call vote, including the renovation of Taylor and Drackett tower, as well as the demolition of Jones Tower.
This is not the first time a Board of Trustees meeting ended early with protesters in attendance. On Dec. 4, the meeting adjourned 30 minutes early, according to a previous Lantern article.
Chris Booker, a university spokesperson, said it is not abnormal for the public session of the Board of Trustees to end early nor to not extensively discuss what is listed on the agenda.
Before Thursday’s meeting, Andrew Stoner, a Columbus resident and former Ohio State student, said that the subject of Strauss and Wexner comes around every few years.
“I mean, you see the signs everywhere, you read about it,” Stoner said. “The perception is that nothing is really being done for them. There’s no admission of guilt, but it doesn’t seem like the subject is really being addressed head-on by Ohio State, and that’s why it lingers.”
Rick Lucas, president of the Ohio Nurses Association and a staff nurse at the medical center, said that the goal of protesting at the meeting is to believe and take care of sexual assault victims.
“These folks have been fighting for eight years, and the university still hasn’t done right by them,” Lucas said. “It’s really important that we stand out here with them and fight to get resolution to this and do a better job of protecting people.”
Daniel Horton, a protestor with the group, Survivors of OSU, said that the long-term goal, outside of removing Wexner’s name, was building more of a relationship with university administration.?
“At the end of the day, I want to bridge that gap with the Board of Trustees and just hope that they see the survivors as people with legitimate concerns about the future of this university,” Horton said. “Leadership is taking the opportunity to make change and bring accountability from the top down, and I really hope to see that happen soon.”
The article was edited on March 6 at 12:43 p.m. to add how many Strauss survivors have settled with Ohio State and Chris Booker’s comment about public session meetings.
