A law enacting sweeping changes on public college and university campuses, signed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Friday, has drawn criticism from faculty unions, students and others.
The bill — which, among other things, bans diversity, equity and inclusion programming and faculty strikes — has been opposed for months by students and faculty across the state.
Mark Vopat, chair of the Youngstown State University chapter of the Ohio Education Association, the faculty union, said the bill being approved bodes ill for professors' ability to advocate for themselves and their freedom of speech.
"By removing the right to strike, by removing our ability to negotiate when it comes to tenure, it essentially eliminates tenure in Ohio," Vopat said. "So speaking as a faculty member and as a union member, the fact that it lessens our ability to negotiate for a fair and just contract, it also means that there's no job security."
Vopat said he believes the new law will lead to a significant amount of talent leaving Ohio, with professors choosing to work at schools in other states and students electing to leave Ohio to attend school, or not come here from out of state.
Zachary Graves, vice president of Kent State University's undergraduate student government, worried about how the law would impact scholarships specifically targeted for LGBTQ+ students, women and students of color, as well as centers on campus meant to serve those groups.
The law calls for universities and colleges to "provide no advantage or disadvantage to faculty, staff, or students on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression in admissions, hiring, promotion, tenuring, or workplace conditions," according to the Ohio Legislative Services Commission's analysis.
Graves also said he believes the bill will quash honest discussions on controversial topics in classrooms.
"With conversations about slavery, they (lawmakers) think that topics that are discussed in that light, put the blame on white people and that's not the truth," Graves said. "Talking about what happened and recognizing it is part of our history, and I think that trying to go back and just say that, 'well, no, you can't talk about this because it's controversial or it makes people feel bad. I think that's the wrong way to look at it because it is the truth."
Cleveland State University President Laura Bloomberg, in an interview Thursday before DeWine signed the bill, said her understanding is student groups that cater to LGBTQ+ students and students of color will still be allowed to exist under the law, so long as those groups are "open to all students."
Bloomberg said the university will stay the course by helping all groups of students succeed, while following the law. She noted CSU serves Cleveland, where a majority of residents are not white. She said that means CSU will inherently need to serve a diverse population.
"I don't want to get bogged down by terminology, that's not where I think we should be stopped," Bloomberg said. "What I want is for all of our students to be successful here. To be successful, you need to feel like you belong. To graduate, you have to feel that you are getting the services you need. That will be our focus for a diverse community of students."
