Over the span of 24 hours in Ohio, Senate Bill 1 had a marathon eight and a half hour opposition hearing with 800+ opponents, was voted out of committee less than 12 hours later, and then passed in the Ohio Senate hours later. At every iteration of SB 1, the Ohio Student Association has tirelessly fought the bill existentially threatening our cherished campuses.

Higher education is on the line in Ohio as extremist politicians try desperately to fast-track SB 1’s passage, the most divisive Ohio bill in recent history. The bill would consolidate university governance in the hands of the government, censor what students can and can’t learn, gut our professors’ labor rights, and ban any program, office, or scholarship deemed to be “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

College students have been on the front lines of this fight since SB 1’s introduction in late January. From disrupting the press conference announcing SB 1 to protesters outnumbering the 12 proponents at SB 1’s proponent hearing, every step of the way has been met with loud student resistance, escalating as it was rushed through the Senate this week.

Wednesday morning, the Senate Higher Education Committee gathered to vote on SB 1. Students dressed in all-black to attend the funeral of our state’s higher education system, veiled with the names of the senators responsible for the passage of SB1 out of committee. Students silently filed out of the room as the chair gaveled, gathering in the statehouse rotunda holding hands in solidarity. 

Later the same day, for two and a half hours Senators spoke about SB 1 on the floor before voting 21-11 to pass it. After SB 1 passed, Ohio students raised a banner reading “Senate Killed Higher Ed,” chants echoing while marching out of the chamber.

Ohio Students have relentlessly organized, protesting every iteration of Senate Bill 1, showing up week after week at the statehouse to stop destruction of our state’s universities, and have been met with Senate Republicans calling them “young indoctrinated minds of mush,” the bill’s sponsor alleging that they were receiving “extra credit” to protest. 

“We disrupted their press conferences and hearings, and marched and over 800 of us submitted opponent testimony. They still won’t listen to us,” said Sydney Ball, a senior at the Ohio State University. “This isn't just about a bill. It’s about fighting back against an extremist legislature that doesn’t know our campuses and wants to control what we can and can’t learn.”

“If SB 1 succeeds in Ohio, it will embolden politicians everywhere to kill higher education under the guise of ‘neutrality.'” said Sabrina Estevez, a second-year at Ohio State. “This is a warning: the fight for academic freedom isn’t just Ohio’s fight, it’s America’s fight.”

Ohio’s college students are the anchor of our state and the key to unlocking a diverse and equitable future where young people can thrive. Our Senate has voted for the antithesis—an Ohio where students are desperately leaving for better opportunities and a fair education that isn’t steeped in extremism, misinformation, and conspiracies. 

“Our generation understands that defending higher education is about protecting our right to learn, think critically, and imagine a more just world. These politicians think they can silence us, but they’ve only awakened a sleeping giant,” says Nica Delgado, a senior at Kent State University. “We’re not giving up. This doesn’t stop with the Senate.”

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The Ohio Student Association is a statewide grassroots organization anchored by student-led chapters on college campuses across Ohio that organize issue campaigns to fight for racial, economic, and educational justice.