SB 83

COMMENTARY

Ohio Republican attack on higher ed will devastate our widely respected colleges and universities

BY: - May 23, 2023

Bad news, Buckeyes. Ohio has officially gone down the Florida rabbit hole on Ohio State University and every other public college and university in the state. The new abnormal of legislative extremism in Columbus hit a whole new level of atrocious last week with passage of a bill “to rescue higher education in Ohio from […]

College students

Ohio GOP supports college overhaul bills to create ‘safe space’ for conservatives

BY: - May 19, 2023

Ohio conservatives want “safe spaces” on college campuses, demonstrated by the passing and introduction of controversial legislation meant to overhaul the state’s higher education system. After hours of hearings and hundreds of people giving testimony, Ohio Republican senators passed Senate Bill 83. The bill focuses on what GOP calls “free speech,” banning public universities in Ohio from having […]

COMMENTARY

Making ethnic studies illegal in Ohio: Even watered down, SB 83 requires teaching racism

BY: - May 19, 2023

In 2006, I was hired by the state of Ohio to teach ethnic studies. Among the core concepts of this field that I was expected to impart to my students were the ideas that apparent human differences are more historical and cultural than natural, that what we call “race” is our own invention, and a […]

Ohio Republican senator agrees to modify controversial higher education bill

BY: - April 24, 2023

After a seven-hour hearing last Wednesday for controversial legislation to overhaul the college education system in Ohio, the bill sponsor agreed to make some changes and clarifications. From 4 p.m. until 11:30 p.m., hundreds of students and educators testified against Senate Bill 83. This massive college overhaul bill focuses on what Republicans call “free speech,” banning […]

A university professor addressing his students during a lecture. Getty Images.

Supporters of Ohio’s higher education overhaul argue it would promote intellectual diversity

BY: - March 30, 2023

Five educators spoke up in support Wednesday of a gigantic higher education bill proposed by lawmakers that would, among other things, require American history courses and tenure evaluations based on if the educator showed bias or taught with bias, and prohibit university staff and employees from striking.  Proponents of Senate Bill 83, introduced earlier this […]