Wednesday, March 5 President Trump threatened to strip federal funding from colleges and universities that allow their students to “illegally” protest and threatened to deport, imprison, and/or expel students who are using their right to free speech. These threats are a desperate attempt to silence a movement that is working—we won’t back down.
We have been at the forefront of protests against the closure of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at Ohio State University and other public institutions across the state. Today, over 900 faculty, staff, and students rallied in response to these closures at the Ohio State University, with hundreds of others protesting at the University of Akron and the University of Cincinnati. We have organized to oppose Ohio Senate Bill 1, which is a priority bill that aims to destroy higher education by limiting open dialogue on controversial topics and pressure university administrators to squander academic freedom. Let’s be perfectly clear, in a free society, peaceful protests are not illegal. We are committed to racial, economic, and educational justice in the face of increasing hostility toward marginalized communities in Ohio.
Students across the country and the state are organizing because we believe in a better future than what our elected officials and campus leaders are offering. We are calling out injustice and demanding accountability. Our voices create real change, and we won’t be silenced. This is our right. No authoritarian threat will take it away from us.
If the administration wasn’t afraid of the power we hold, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to shut us down. What we are doing is working. Their fear is not our concern. Our focus remains on building power for students. We are not backing down. We are not going anywhere and we won’t be intimidated. And we will continue to stand together, louder and stronger than ever.
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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.
