Over 30 students gather outside Ohio Union Tuesday to protest issues in Ohio higher education, openly invite President Carter to engage

Kaitlan Harlan, Antonia Campbell
Wed, 26 Mar 2025 04:26:48 +0000
Campus, Instagram Page, News, academic freedom, Academic Politics, climate justice, Columbus, DEI, DEI initiatives, DEI Rollbacks, free speech, freedom, higher education, Housing Rights, Intellectual Diversity Center, justice, ohio state, ohio state politics, ohio state university, OSU education, osu protest, Salmon P. Chase center, student politics, student rights, ted carter, Trans Rights

Students and faculty marched outside of the Union Tuesday towards the South Oval after Ohio State University Police Department officers gave an initial warning about the use of megaphones, which protestors were employing for chants. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Students and faculty gathered outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Students spoke outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Police officers watched as students and faculty gathered outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Students spoke outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Students gathered outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Students and faculty gathered outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Police officers watched as students and faculty gathered outside of the Union Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Students and faculty marched outside of the Union Tuesday towards the South Oval after Ohio State University Police Department officers gave an initial warning about the use of megaphones, which protestors were employing for chants. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Students and faculty marched outside of the Union Tuesday towards the South Oval after Ohio State University Police Department officers gave an initial warning about the use of megaphones, which protestors were employing for chants. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer

Students chant and drum in the South Oval Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Students gathered in the South Oval Tuesday to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

An Ohio State University Police Department officer issues a warning Tuesday in the South Oval for potential arrests if protestors continued to use amplified sound. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

An Ohio State University Police Department officer issues a warning Tuesday in the South Oval for potential arrests if protestors continued to use amplified sound. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Around 30 students gathered outside the Ohio Union Tuesday afternoon to protest a wide range of campus-related issues, including the sunsetting of diversity, equity and inclusion programming, Ohio Senate Bill 1, transgender housing rights, divestment from Israel and the establishment of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society.?

The protest occurred at the same time as the inaugural Chase Center event, titled “Conversation with the Presidents, Citizenship Education at America’s Leading Research Universities,” which featured university President Ted Carter Jr., Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels and Chase Center executive director Lee Strang.

Organizations like Ohio Youth for Climate Justice, Students for Justice in Palestine, DEI Coalition, Trans Experimental Action and Rising Tide Columbus were present at the demonstration. Protestors carried signs, gave speeches and yelled chants including, “You can sunset ODI, but the sun will always rise,” “OSU, what do you say, how many kids have you killed today” and “SB 1 is a war on people, censorship should be illegal.”

In regard to Ohio State’s DEI rollbacks, university spokesperson Ben Johnson said in a statement “being proactive will allow the university to best uphold the values of excellence, access and opportunity that we hold dear.”

“The initial reorganization of DEI programming will not reduce current student scholarships, financial aid or student employment,” Johnson said. “Every current student who has earned a scholarship will retain their scholarship, and all student employees impacted by the program changes will be offered alternative jobs at the university. In cases where positions were eliminated, we have identified job opportunities for all interested employees.”

The Chase Center was established through Ohio SB 117 in 2023 to “research and teach the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society,” according to its website.

Brielle Shorter, a third-year in psychology, said she feels the quick implementation of the government-funded Chase Center ignores pushback from the university community.

“The Chase Center is the fastest growing conservative thought center that is going on in the state of Ohio,” said Shorter, also a DEI Coalition member.?

Richard Fletcher, an associate professor in the Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy, highlighted democratic concerns surrounding the center’s approval.?

“The Senate voted against it,” Fletcher said. “Students, faculty [and] staff voted against it. But it still moves through, so it kind of shows it’s not very democratic. It’s a kind of imposed structure.”?

Around an hour into the protest, Ohio State University Police Department officers gave an initial warning about the use of megaphones, which protestors were employing for chants. Amplified sound from Monday-Friday prior to 5:30 p.m. and after 10 p.m. is restricted on campus, according to university space standards.?

This advisory caused the protest to relocate from the backside of the Union to the east end of the South Oval.?

Once there, protestors continued to use megaphones, which led officers to issue a warning for potential arrests if protestors continued to use amplified sound.

The remainder of the protest was free of policing, with students and faculty sharing their thoughts on the current state of higher education in Ohio. Penelope Rupert, a graduate student in comparative studies, said she personally feels uncertain about pursuing a doctorate in light of recent changes in the higher education landscape.?

“I find it untenable to go down a Ph.D. path in this current moment, where higher education is under attack, because I’m not certain that this economy of higher education is going to be able to sustain scholars like me, who are doing work that is experimental and the work that is being marginalized,” Rupert said.?

Mia Huber, a fourth-year in ecological engineering, said the protest was ultimately organized in response to a perceived lack of democracy at Ohio State.

“We are here today because the university is not functioning as it should for the people — it is working to serve those in power and the rich,” said Huber, also a member of Ohio Youth for Climate Justice. “Whether it’s through SB 1, the continuous profiting off the climate crisis or the colonialism and genocide happening within us, students are here to say we’ve had enough.”?

As the protest came to a close, Shorter reflected on the participating organizations’ shared momentum going forward.?

“None of us are completely separated, none of us are completely disjointed and we’re all a collective,” Shorter said. “I think the student power is growing, and so today, turnout wasn’t the goal, and even if you have one person realize that the power of two is more than one, then that person is enacting change and is a powerful leader.”?

Johnson said the Morrill and Young Scholars programs will be maintained, and the university remains “committed to welcoming individuals of all backgrounds from every community in Ohio.”

“Going forward, we will be working with students and the community to understand what programming was most impactful and how we can reimagine those initiatives while also ensuring that they’re open to all,” Johnson said.