To the editor:
I speak for myself and not the university.
Until Feb. 22, the university relied on gossip and hearsay while working in secret regarding the awarding of student scholarships this academic year. On Feb. 22, the university informed faculty that, in response to its interpretation of the Ohio Attorney General’s interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College: “The work to date has helped us identify gift agreements that include language that may need to be revised. We are temporarily pausing the awarding of impacted scholarships, which represent a small but important subset of our annual awards, as we contemplate any necessary revisions.”
Faculty have been told, through the rumor mill, that the Ohio AG has informed university leadership statewide that he will not serve as defense counsel should a university be sued for awarding scholarships that specify race as a criteria. This puts faculty in an untenable position to do our jobs according to the faculty handbook because we will make ourselves vulnerable to a lawsuit by awarding any scholarships. Our donors are free to give their money as they choose. They need to be aware of this change. In the Feb. 21 journalism school faculty meeting, the mood was mournful, to say the least.
At a time when moral courage and leadership are called for, the new university president is sending the provost to the next Faculty Senate meeting to answer questions, but the president’s intentions are already clear. She is not standing up for the donors or faculty or students. Neither is the Ohio Attorney General, who would prefer that Ohio universities offer fewer scholarships (Ohio residents of all races are needy) than to do his job of defending the people and the state of Ohio. This is a grievous day in history.
Nerissa Young
Associate professor of instruction
Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism
Athens, Ohio
