ATHENS, Ohio — Around 70 community members gathered in front of Cutler Hall on Ohio University’s College Green Wednesday afternoon to protest Ohio Senate Bill 1.
The bill would transform the way Ohio’s 14 public universities and 23 community colleges operate by abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion programs and prohibiting full-time faculty from striking, among other strictures.
The bill recently passed in the Ohio Senate and is currently awaiting review in the Ohio House. If the bill passes, OU will have 90 days to implement required changes.
The presidents of Ohio University and other public universities jointly decided not to take a stance on SB 1.
Although the bill is not yet law, in early March, Ohio University has placed the annual Celebrate Women and Black Alumni Reunion events on hold to preemptively comply with changes to DEI at the state and national levels.
“If you start complying with laws that are unjust — that aren’t even laws yet — in anticipation, you’re just pandering support to the dictators,” Michael Link, a local resident at the protest said.
The law could force OU to eliminate its Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, the Pride Center, the Multicultural Center and the Women’s Center.
Melissa Link, a local resident who attended the protest, said, “It just feels like things that we’re having to fight for, you almost think in 2025 we shouldn’t have to fight for.”
The protest began a little after 4 p.m. with demonstrators chanting phrases such as “O-U, do not comply, we are keeping D-E-I,” and “The people united, will never be divided.”
Eleven people spoke during the protest, including Patty Stokes, a professor at Ohio University and Ari Faber, acting director of United Campus Ministry and candidate for one of Athens City Council’s at-large seats.
Speakers talked about DEI as a strength of the institution and demanded OU take the full, legally allotted 90 days it will have following the passage of the bill to implement any required changes and continue to support marginalized students however it can.
Students staged a separate protest against SB 1 on Feb. 27.
Faber helped organize this week’s protest to engage community members around SB 1 while many students were out of town for OU’s spring break.
“We’re trying to advocate for and be a voice for students when they’re not able to be here,” Faber said.
In hisrole at UCM, Faber is working to ensure the community is ready to support OU students and community members should the bill pass. The organization is housed just off campus at 18 North College Street , and Faber said supporting marginalized students is part of UCM’s history and mission.
“UCM is preparing to have an influx of a lot of students just kind of hanging out in the building during the day because they’re losing their homes on campus, basically,” Faber said.
Additionally, Faber said UCM will work with students to host an influx of resources traditionally held at the Pride Center, such as a clothing closet, and preserve digital archives of LGBTQ+ history. UCM is also discussing plans to host various events traditionally held by the Pride Center, such as “Pride Graduation,” Faber said.
But UCM can’t do these things alone.
“I think it would be great if various organizations around Athens that are focused around anything social justice or DEI … to have a meeting and start discussing like, okay, typically, Juneteenth, for example, is mostly handled by the university. So how do we make sure that celebrations like that continue happening without the university to back it up?” Faber said.
At the end of the protest, demonstrators sang the song “We Shall Overcome,” a gospel song with roots to the Civil Rights Movement.
Click on any of the images below to see them in slideshow view
All photos by Shiloh Antonuccio.
Correction: This article has been updated since the initial publication to correct the number of speakers at the protest. We apologize for this error.
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