Honesty for Ohio Education condemns militarized response to peaceful student demonstrators, demands campus leaders prioritize ALL student rights and safety
May 3, 2024 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Columbus – As a statewide, nonpartisan coalition championing an honest, inclusive education for all Ohio students, Honesty for Ohio Education believes in every student’s constitutional right and ability to safely express their views without threatening the safety of those with differing views. Our colleges and universities must serve as safe, trusted spaces for ALL students to exercise free speech, sharpen critical thinking, and broaden perspectives in ways that prepare them for a complex, ever-changing global society.
That’s why we condemn the overreaction by university leaders and law enforcement to peaceful anti-war demonstrations led by diverse groups, including Muslim and Jewish students at The Ohio State University (OSU) and campuses across the nation. These actions fuel accusations that students, faculty, and community members who raise uncomfortable issues are enemies of the state. This stance is rooted in an agenda designed to silence dissent and sow division. Like previous generations who took sweeping action to secure voting rights, end segregation, and advance racial justice, these young people feel they have no other choice but to put their bodies on the line to end the horrific violence and humanitarian crisis in the Israeli-Palestinian region.
As Ohioans commemorate the state-provoked National Guard killing of four Kent State University student demonstrators on May 4, 1970, OSU’s response is a chilling reminder of the thin line between constitutional freedoms and human life in Ohio. In breaking up a peaceful interfaith encampment and arresting more than 40 protesters at OSU last week, police in riot gear escalated tension and incited violence, endangering the safety of everyone involved, including passersby. Witnesses and reports state that police expressly targeted Muslim students, attacking them as they prayed, forcibly removing hijabs once in detention, and recklessly destroying and removing others' personal property. University leaders’ subsequent reliance on rules regarding use of space is a poor excuse for not proactively engaging with students. Leaders must prioritize civil discourse and create opportunities for multiperspective dialogue, education, and shared resources. While following school rules is important, the tradition of effective and justifiable protest is steeped in nonviolent disruption.
We have watched university and state leaders wrap themselves in the Constitution and notions of patriotism while relentlessly criminalizing Ohioans for the oldest act of patriotism – PROTEST. These leaders parrot virtues of free speech with mission statements and Senate Bills 40 and 135, yet push copycat anti-free speech, educational gag orders designed to silence student voice, censor education, and force ideological conformity. Senate Bill 117, adopted in 2023, uses our taxpayer dollars to create political, conservative thought centers on five Ohio campuses, while Senate Bill 83 would restrict speech and action around “controversial topics”, censor academic freedom, and ban needed DEI across all public campuses. Ohioans overwhelmingly oppose these anti-student efforts – we say ENOUGH!
Honesty calls on Ohio leaders to truly stand for constitutional freedoms by ensuring safe college and university campuses for ALL students who exercise free speech and by engaging in meaningful dialogue with their students. Leaders must be bold in denouncing and eradicating hate and violence of all kinds, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. The safety of ALL Ohio students, the future of our higher education institutions, and the promise of a high-functioning multiracial democracy depend on our ability to uphold the fundamental principles of free speech, dissent, and academic freedom.
That’s why we condemn the overreaction by university leaders and law enforcement to peaceful anti-war demonstrations led by diverse groups, including Muslim and Jewish students at The Ohio State University (OSU) and campuses across the nation. These actions fuel accusations that students, faculty, and community members who raise uncomfortable issues are enemies of the state. This stance is rooted in an agenda designed to silence dissent and sow division. Like previous generations who took sweeping action to secure voting rights, end segregation, and advance racial justice, these young people feel they have no other choice but to put their bodies on the line to end the horrific violence and humanitarian crisis in the Israeli-Palestinian region.
As Ohioans commemorate the state-provoked National Guard killing of four Kent State University student demonstrators on May 4, 1970, OSU’s response is a chilling reminder of the thin line between constitutional freedoms and human life in Ohio. In breaking up a peaceful interfaith encampment and arresting more than 40 protesters at OSU last week, police in riot gear escalated tension and incited violence, endangering the safety of everyone involved, including passersby. Witnesses and reports state that police expressly targeted Muslim students, attacking them as they prayed, forcibly removing hijabs once in detention, and recklessly destroying and removing others' personal property. University leaders’ subsequent reliance on rules regarding use of space is a poor excuse for not proactively engaging with students. Leaders must prioritize civil discourse and create opportunities for multiperspective dialogue, education, and shared resources. While following school rules is important, the tradition of effective and justifiable protest is steeped in nonviolent disruption.
We have watched university and state leaders wrap themselves in the Constitution and notions of patriotism while relentlessly criminalizing Ohioans for the oldest act of patriotism – PROTEST. These leaders parrot virtues of free speech with mission statements and Senate Bills 40 and 135, yet push copycat anti-free speech, educational gag orders designed to silence student voice, censor education, and force ideological conformity. Senate Bill 117, adopted in 2023, uses our taxpayer dollars to create political, conservative thought centers on five Ohio campuses, while Senate Bill 83 would restrict speech and action around “controversial topics”, censor academic freedom, and ban needed DEI across all public campuses. Ohioans overwhelmingly oppose these anti-student efforts – we say ENOUGH!
Honesty calls on Ohio leaders to truly stand for constitutional freedoms by ensuring safe college and university campuses for ALL students who exercise free speech and by engaging in meaningful dialogue with their students. Leaders must be bold in denouncing and eradicating hate and violence of all kinds, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. The safety of ALL Ohio students, the future of our higher education institutions, and the promise of a high-functioning multiracial democracy depend on our ability to uphold the fundamental principles of free speech, dissent, and academic freedom.
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Honesty for Ohio Education is a nonpartisan, statewide coalition that champions honest education, affirmation of identities, cultures, and experiences, and the rights and safety of all students, families, and educators. The coalition represents nearly 70 organizational partners and thousands of Ohioans across the state.