Many Kent State students and faculty will be returning to campus this fall for the first time since Senate Bill 83, also titled the Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act, was passed by the Ohio Senate on May 17. 

However, the bill did make it into the state budget and remains in the House, awaiting further discussion. 

 According to the current version of the bill, mandated diversity, equity and inclusion training, affirmative action policies and employee strikes occurring in Ohio public universities would be banned. The legislation also limits classroom discussions on anything deemed a “controversial belief or policy” and requires students to take certain American history courses. 

 The bill, first introduced by state Senator Jerry Cirino, which originally listed plans to ban programs with Chinese schools, has undergone revisions to add new language that clarifies its intentions. 

 The newest version would allow Ohio universities to continue their programs with Chinese schools, but more steps would be taken in order to protect the “security of the state of Ohio,” according to the bill. Other clarifications include allowing exemptions for required American history courses and certain mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion training if it is essential for the university. 

 Despite these changes, many students and faculty are still concerned about what this legislation could mean when officially passed. 

 Members of Kent State’s Department of Africana Studies Faculty Advisory Committee expressed their opposition to Senate Bill 83 in a statement designed to present their stance on the issue. 

 The committee wrote in its statement that the bill is an attack on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in higher education, which is important in creating a welcoming environment for all faculty and students. 

 “Senate Bill 83 is an anti-democratic piece of protest legislation that uses duplicitous language (“neutrality” and “intellectual diversity”) to remove mandatory diversity, equity, and inclusion training that seek to bridge social and economic gaps in education that have stymied the progress of students, faculty, and staff from underrepresented groups, especially those of color,” the statement read. 

 The terms neutrality and intellectual diversity are used in this case to require that faculty must guarantee to encourage students to reach their own conclusions about any controversial matters, which include climate change, foreign policy, diversity, equity and inclusion programs and abortion policies, according to Senate Bill 83. 

 The statement called for members of the administration at Kent State to join the Department of Africana Studies in opposing Senate Bill 83 to ensure that the university will work towards maintaining a cooperative, fair environment for both learning and employment. 

 Senate Bill 83 was a controversial and popular talking point among students when it was first introduced, as student groups, including Black United Students and Students for a Democratic Society, came together to protest it in early May. 

 The student protestors rose during Kent State President Todd Diacon’s speech at the May 4 Memorial, with the goal of having him speak on the subject and recognize their concerns. 

 Diacon noted back in May, during one of his ‘Talking with Todd’ sessions which was directed toward university faculty and staff, that he and other public university presidents worked with sponsors of the bill in Columbus to alter some of the bill’s language that they found concerning. He said Kent State will continue to be committed to diversity, and the bill would not affect that. 

 Brianna Molitor, project director for the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, shared concerns within her department on the unknown aspect of the bill. 

“We have kind of an outdated version of the bill that we’ve been tentatively planning for, but in terms of planning, it’s very difficult because we don’t know what’s actually going to pass, so we don’t want to make any big changes that we don’t need to make,” Molitor said. “We are still kind of in a holding pattern with our planning, just to see where things end up.” 

 Molitor said Kent State’s division does not provide any mandatory training, and all diversity, equity and inclusion training is already voluntary. She is not concerned about the division going away, but rather about what changes will have to be made to accommodate the new bill. 

 “In some other areas, especially some other states, have had similar legislatures that do totally gut their DEI programs, but as far as we’ve read in the Senate Bill, it would not be doing that. It would just maybe change the way we do some of our work,” she said. 

 Senate Bill 83 has sparked apprehension across the board at Kent State, where the administration is waiting for the final version to be released from the House, which Molitor does not expect to happen in time to affect the fall semester. One of the main concerns of the faculty is that the bill will ultimately hinder learning opportunities and discussion for students. 

 “It’s an academic environment, and these conversations are important to have, so we don’t want to have students miss out on part of their education,” Molitor said. 

Kayla Gleason is a reporter. 

Contact her at [email protected].