Columbus, Ohio (AP) – Bill ban Diversity, equity, inclusion Programs at Ohio’s public universities and universities strip faculty of certain collective bargaining and tenure protections, clearing the Republican-led Ohio Senate on Wednesday over objections from more than 1,000 students, educators and others. I did.
Senate Bill 1 The school has pledged to not affect students’ views on “controversial” topics, eliminate the voting rights for Ohio State University student councillors, and Ohio university students take a three-hour civic education course. Requests that you modify the changes and impose dozens of other programs and administrators. Schools that violate the measures will risk losing state funds if it becomes law.
The bill cleaned up Senate 21-11 and marked it Second time The Chamber of Commerce has approved a similar law since 2023. I now head to my Ohio home, where my final session was killed. But the politics there was changed with the ascension of new speakers.
GOP Sen. Jerry Sirino said the bill aims to protect “intellectual diversity,” including welcoming more conservative voices on campus.
“SB 1 deals with the blunder that Day has made,” Chirino said during a floor discussion. “It turned into institutional discrimination. As a result, students, staff and faculty experienced discrimination that did not suit the legitimacy of the DEI. This discrimination supports these very large (DEI) organizations. It should end with the millions of dollars spent to do so.”
Democrat senators have pushed back to Republican debate in support of the bill, with several black senators giving particularly intense rebuttals.
Sen. Hersel, a black Columbus Democrat, noted that in recent weeks, a group of white supremacists have marched in Columbus and Cincinnati. He said it is important at this historic moment that universities and universities have the opportunity to share “there is nothing but truth, truth and truth” about the country’s black history.
He added that the DEI program benefits not only black students, but also veterans, women, people with disabilities, and more.
“All students who benefited from the DEI program have proven to be more than worthy of the opportunity to attend university,” he said. “They didn’t just hand over education. They worked for it.”
Senate Higher Education Chairman Christina Rougner said universities and universities are assumed to be places where students can “learn without prejudice.”
“They can speak their minds without being cancelled. They can consider all aspects of the problem, form their minds, and make up their own minds, and about their positions without fear of retaliation from the teachers. You can be honest,” she said. “Unfortunately, higher education throughout our nation has become a fortress of primarily liberal prejudice. Certainly, it may not be. But it is widespread enough that we must act. It’s there.”
Columbus Sen. Bill Demora called the bill “anti-union, anti-free speech,” saying its passage could contribute to a tougher, growing political division.
“Essentially, anyone is allowed to report schools for professors who do things they don’t like, and schools can lose all their funds for that,” he says. Ta. “It’s totally ridiculous. That’s my colleague and, as we know, call this the death of higher education.”
Newly confirmed Ohio Lt. Colonel Jim Tressel is a former Buckeyes soccer coach who spent most of his career in higher education and served as president of Youngstown State University when work on Chirino’s first bill began Wednesday. He said he was there.
He said that although he generally sees the value of diversity in higher education institutions, it is too early for him to take a stand under the law. In fact, he said he launched the initiative as Youngstown president to promote acceptance and understanding among different students.
“Growing up, I always thought that the word “university” means “uniformity” and “diversity.” Because people come from different cultures, different homes, different small towns,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. . “And they’re coming together on college campus and suddenly you’re with people you haven’t spent time on, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn about them.”
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