A week after Ohio State University announced it was closing its diversity, equity and inclusion offices, OSU's Black Alumni Society sent an email encouraging alumni to make their voices heard.
The email's subject line is "We Remain Resilient - One Week Later." It calls on Black alumni to write to Ohio State President Ted Carter, the Ohio State Board of Trustees, Attorney General Dave Yost, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel. It provides possible form letters.
"We're gonna let them know that there's a large contingent of individuals who are not okay with this," said Chibundu Nnake, president of OSU's Black Alumni Society.
Nnake said Carter and the university's trustees decided to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and The Office of Student Life's Center for Belonging and Social Change without talking to students, alumni or faculty. He said he hasn't heard from Carter or Alumni Association President Molly Calhoun since the decision was announced.
"So, the hope is that our alumni will send letters and tell him how this is unacceptable and we'll come to the table and have a discussion about why he thinks it's acceptable," Nnake said. He added, "I think broadly, this feels like authoritarianism."
RELATED: Ohio State protestors direct anger at President Ted Carter after diversity offices are shut down
Nnake says he's worried for all students as campus becomes less welcoming.
"That America that's supposed to be an opportunity for all, liberty and justice for all, that America is under attack," he said.
He said it wasn't long ago — about 60 years — when Black and brown people were restricted from where they could attend school and were treated with hostility in America's institutions.
"No, they are not spraying us with water hoses. No, they are not attacking us with dogs in 2025. But yes, they are not making it a very welcoming place unless, I guess, you play football," Nnake said.
Still, Nnake is a Buckeye through and through. He said the Black Alumni Society wants campus to remain inclusive and for it to continue to attract people from diverse backgrounds.
"We remain committed our alumni," Nnake said. "We remain committed to the institution that's turned its back on us."
