Ohio universities are closing their LGBTQ+ centers to comply with a state DEI ban
Multiple universities in Ohio have announced that they will be closing their LGBTQ+ student centers to comply with a state ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Keep up with the latest in + news and politics.
Senate Bill 1, which is set to go into effect on June 27, doesn't just impose a sweeping DEI ban on state universities, but also restricts their ability to "endorse or oppose, as an institution, any controversial belief or policy, except on matters that directly impact the institution's funding or mission of discovery, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge."
Related: What is DEI, what does it mean, and why are companies really getting rid of it?
As a result, several colleges have shuttered their LGBTQ+ centers and related services. Ohio State University has so far closed two DEI offices, cut 16 staff positions, and took down its website offering support to LGBTQ+ students. The link is now deactivated, though the Internet Archive shows the page was active as recently as May 25, as reported by Signal Ohio. The University of Toledo has also discontinued nine undergraduate majors in response to the bill, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Meanwhile, Kent State University announced that it would be shutting down "several identity-based centers," such as its LGBTQ+ Center, Women's Center, and Student Multicultural Center. KSU is also ending its LGBTQ+ Living-Learning Community, which allowed queer students to live together, while stating "all other university academically based Living-Learning Communities will continue within our residence hall system."
"We understand these centers and the Living-Learning Community have been powerful sources of connection, support and growth, and we acknowledge the emotional and personal impact this change may have on many members of our community," wrote Eboni Pringle, KSU's senior vice president for student life.
Related: Iowa State students hold 'funeral' for LGBTQ+ center shut down by anti-DEI bill
The ACLU of Ohio has maintained that the law violates students' and universities' freedom of speech, with Policy Director Jocelyn Rosnick saying in a statement that "as students nationwide witness the ongoing assaults against their First Amendment rights, it is disheartening to see Ohio's own legislators follow suit in this dangerous pattern of stifling political discourse."
"By dismantling DEI structures, Senate Bill 1 sends a clear, harmful message to students that their unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are not welcome in Ohio," Rosnick said. "Further, the exceedingly vague and contradictory language regarding the banning of so-called 'controversial beliefs or policies' creates a slippery slope for faculty and administration. This could lead to faculty avoiding any such topics in classrooms for fear of retaliation."
"Institutions of higher education must remain places where academic freedom and diversity can foster – not be censored," she said.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Freed from prison, Belarusian dissident Tsikhanouski tells AP about 5 years in solitary confinement
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Siarhei Tsikhanouski is almost unrecognizable. Belarus' key opposition figure, imprisoned in 2020 and unexpectedly released on Saturday, once weighed 135 kilograms (298 pounds) at 1.92 meters (nearly 6'4') tall, but now is at just 79 kilos (174 pounds). On Saturday, Tsikhnaouski was freed alongside 13 other prisoners and brought to Vilnius, the capital of neighboring Lithuania, where he was reunited with his wife, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and their children. Speaking to The Associated Press the day after, Tsikhanouski tries to smile and joke, but struggles to hold back heavy sighs recalling what he endured behind bars. 'This is definitely torture,' Tsikhanouski told The Associated Press in the first sit-down interview since his release. Prison officials 'kept telling me: 'You will be here not just for the 20 years we've already given you.' We will convict you again,'' he said. 'They told me that 'You would never get out.' And they kept repeating: 'You will die here.'' One of Belarus's most prominent opposition figures, Tsikhanouski said he 'almost forgot how to speak' during his years in solitary confinement. He was held in complete isolation, denied medical care, and given barely enough food. 'If you had seen me when they threw only two spoons of porridge onto my plate, two small spoons …' he said, adding that he couldn't buy anything anything in the prison kiosk. 'They would sometimes give me a little tube of toothpaste, a little piece of soap as charity. Sometimes they would, sometimes they wouldn't.' Now 46, Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist, was freed just hours after Belarusian authorities announced that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Keith Kellogg became the highest-ranking U.S. official in years to visit Belarus, Moscow's close and dependent ally. Tsikhanouski, known for his anti-Lukashenko slogan 'stop the cockroach,' was arrested after announcing plans to challenge the strongman in the 2020 election and shortly before the campaign began. He was sentenced to 19 years and six months on charges widely seen as politically motivated. His wife ran in his stead, rallying crowds across the country. Official results handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. Lukashenko has since tightened his grip, securing a seventh term in disputed January 2025 elections. Since mid-2024, his government has pardoned nearly 300 prisoners — including U.S. citizens — in what analysts see as an attempt to mend ties with the West. Tsikhanouski credited U.S. President Donald Trump with aiding his release. 'I thank Donald Trump endlessly,' Tsikhanouski said. 'They (the Belarusian authorities) want Trump to at least, a little bit, somewhere, to meet them halfway. They are ready to release them all. All of them!' Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in the aftermath of the August 2020 vote. Thousands were detained, many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned. At least 1,177 political prisoners remain in custody, according to Viasna, the oldest and most prominent human rights group in Belarus. Among them is Viasna's founder, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. Also behind bars are Viktor Babaryka, a former banker who was widely seen in 2020 as Lukashenko's main electoral rival, and Maria Kolesnikova, a close ally of Tsikhanouskaya and charismatic leader of that year's mass protests. Tsikhanouski called his release 'a dream that's still hard to believe.' On Saturday, he said, guards removed him from a KGB pretrial detention center, put a black bag over his head, and handcuffed him before transporting him in a minibus. He and other prisoners had no idea where they were going. 'To be honest, I still can't believe it. I was afraid I'd wake up and everything would still be the same. I don't believe it, I still don't believe it,' he said, pausing frequently and wiping away tears. Tsikhanouski's children — his daughter, aged 9, and 15-year-old son — didn't recognize him when they were reunited. 'We came in and my wife said to my daughter, 'Your dad has arrived,'' he said, crying. 'At first she couldn't understand, and then she rushed in — she was crying, I was crying … for a very long time. My son too! These are emotions that cannot be described.' Tsikhanouski, who says his health has deteriorated behind bars, plans to undergo a medical examination in Lithuania. He says cold and hunger were 'the main causes of illness' that affected nearly all political prisoners in Belarus, who were subjected to 'especially harsh conditions.' 'There were skin diseases, and everyone had kidney problems from the cold — and no one really understood what was happening,' Tsikhanouski said. 'Blood came out of my mouth, from my nose. Sometimes I had convulsions — but it was all because of the cold, that terrible cold when you sit in those punishment cells.' 'There is no medical care in prison — none at all, just so you know …' he said. Tsikhanouski said conditions slightly improved after the February 2024 death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison colony. 'When Alexei Navalny died, I thought, that'll probably be me soon … And then something changed. It was clear that someone at the top said, 'Make sure he doesn't die here. We don't need that problem.' It got just a bit softer … At some point, word came down: Tsikhanouski must be kept alive, not killed.' Tsikhanouski blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for propping up Lukashenko, both during the 2020 protests and to this day. Russia supports Belarus's economy with loans and subsidized oil and gas. In return, Belarus has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch troops and weapons into Ukraine, and hosts Russian forces and nuclear weapons. Tsikhanouski expressed strong support for Ukraine, calling the Kremlin a common evil for both countries. 'If it weren't for Putin, we would already be living in a different country. Putin recognized Lukashenko's victory in the election, he called black white. That is, he refused to see the falsifications,' Tsikhanouski said. 'They help each other. Because of Putin, this illegal government is still in Belarus.' Some analysts have speculated that by releasing the charismatic and energetic Tsikhanouski, Belarusian authorities may be trying to sow division within the opposition. But Tsikhanouski insists he has no intention of challenging his wife's role as the internationally recognized head of the Belarusian opposition, and he calls for unity. 'Under no circumstances do I plan to criticize any Belarusians, condemn or complain about anyone,' he said. Tsikhanouski says he will not stop fighting and wants to return to active work as both a political figure and a blogger. But he is skeptical that Lukashenko, now 70, will step down voluntarily, despite his age. 'I don't know anymore — will he go or won't he?' Tsikhanouski said. 'Many people say nothing will change until he dies. But I'm still counting on democratic forces winning.' ___ Associated Press journalists Elise Morton in London, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Mahmoud Khalil vows to continue protesting Israel and the war in Gaza after release from detention
Advertisement Joining Khalil at the airport, Ocasio-Cortez said his detention violated the First Amendment and was 'an affront to every American.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'He has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,' she said. 'The Trump administration knows that they are waging a losing legal battle,' Ocasio-Cortez added. 'They are violating the law, and they know that they are violating the law.' Khalil, a 30-year-old legal resident whose wife gave birth during his 104 days of detention, said he also will speak up for the immigrants he left behind in the detention center. 'Whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, anyone in this land, you're not illegal. That doesn't make you less of a human,' he said. Advertisement Khalil was not accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. However the administration has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country for expressing views it considers to be antisemitic and 'pro-Hamas,' referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue detaining a legal resident who was unlikely to flee and had not been accused of any violence. The government filed notice Friday evening that it was appealing Khalil's release. Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
2 hours ago
Emaciated after 5 years in prison, Belarusian dissident Tsikhanouski vows to fight on
VILNIUS, Lithuania -- Siarhei Tsikhanouski is almost unrecognizable. Belarus' key opposition figure, imprisoned in 2020 and unexpectedly released on Saturday, once weighed 135 kilograms (298 pounds) at 1.92 meters (nearly 6'4') tall, but now is at just 79 kilos (174 pounds). On Saturday, Tsikhnaouski was freed alongside 13 other prisoners and brought to Vilnius, the capital of neighboring Lithuania, where he was reunited with his wife, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and their children. Speaking to The Associated Press the day after, Tsikhanouski tries to smile and joke, but struggles to hold back heavy sighs recalling what he endured behind bars. 'This is definitely torture,' Tsikhanouski told The Associated Press in the first sit-down interview since his release. Prison officials 'kept telling me: 'You will be here not just for the 20 years we've already given you.' We will convict you again,'" he said. "They told me that 'You would never get out.' And they kept repeating: 'You will die here.'' One of Belarus's most prominent opposition figures, Tsikhanouski said he 'almost forgot how to speak' during his years in solitary confinement. He was held in complete isolation, denied medical care, and given barely enough food. 'If you had seen me when they threw only two spoons of porridge onto my plate, two small spoons …' he said, adding that he couldn't buy anything anything in the prison kiosk. 'They would sometimes give me a little tube of toothpaste, a little piece of soap as charity. Sometimes they would, sometimes they wouldn't." Now 46, Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist, was freed just hours after Belarusian authorities announced that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Keith Kellogg became the highest-ranking U.S. official in years to visit Belarus, Moscow's close and dependent ally. Tsikhanouski, known for his anti-Lukashenko slogan 'stop the cockroach,' was arrested after announcing plans to challenge the strongman in the 2020 election and shortly before the campaign began. He was sentenced to 19 years and six months on charges widely seen as politically motivated. His wife ran in his stead, rallying crowds across the country. Official results handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. Lukashenko has since tightened his grip, securing a seventh term in disputed January 2025 elections. Since mid-2024, his government has pardoned nearly 300 prisoners — including U.S. citizens — in what analysts see as an attempt to mend ties with the West. Tsikhanouski credited U.S. President Donald Trump with aiding his release. 'I thank Donald Trump endlessly,' Tsikhanouski said. 'They (the Belarusian authorities) want Trump to at least, a little bit, somewhere, to meet them halfway. They are ready to release them all. All of them!' Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in the aftermath of the August 2020 vote. Thousands were detained, many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned. At least 1,177 political prisoners remain in custody, according to Viasna, the oldest and most prominent human rights group in Belarus. Among them is Viasna's founder, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. Also behind bars are Viktor Babaryka, a former banker who was widely seen in 2020 as Lukashenko's main electoral rival, and Maria Kolesnikova, a close ally of Tsikhanouskaya and charismatic leader of that year's mass protests. Tsikhanouski called his release 'a dream that's still hard to believe.' On Saturday, he said, guards removed him from a KGB pretrial detention center, put a black bag over his head, and handcuffed him before transporting him in a minibus. He and other prisoners had no idea where they were going. 'To be honest, I still can't believe it. I was afraid I'd wake up and everything would still be the same. I don't believe it, I still don't believe it,' he said, pausing frequently and wiping away tears. Tsikhanouski's children — his daughter, aged 9, and 15-year-old son — didn't recognize him when they were reunited. 'We came in and my wife said to my daughter, 'Your dad has arrived,'' he said, crying. 'At first she couldn't understand, and then she rushed in — she was crying, I was crying ... for a very long time. My son too! These are emotions that cannot be described.' Tsikhanouski, who says his health has deteriorated behind bars, plans to undergo a medical examination in Lithuania. He says cold and hunger were 'the main causes of illness' that affected nearly all political prisoners in Belarus, who were subjected to 'especially harsh conditions.' 'There were skin diseases, and everyone had kidney problems from the cold — and no one really understood what was happening,' Tsikhanouski said. 'Blood came out of my mouth, from my nose. Sometimes I had convulsions — but it was all because of the cold, that terrible cold when you sit in those punishment cells.' 'There is no medical care in prison — none at all, just so you know …' he said. Tsikhanouski said conditions slightly improved after the February 2024 death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison colony. 'When Alexei Navalny died, I thought, that'll probably be me soon … And then something changed. It was clear that someone at the top said, 'Make sure he doesn't die here. We don't need that problem.' It got just a bit softer ... At some point, word came down: Tsikhanouski must be kept alive, not killed.' Tsikhanouski blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for propping up Lukashenko, both during the 2020 protests and to this day. Russia supports Belarus's economy with loans and subsidized oil and gas. In return, Belarus has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch troops and weapons into Ukraine, and hosts Russian forces and nuclear weapons. Tsikhanouski expressed strong support for Ukraine, calling the Kremlin a common evil for both countries. 'If it weren't for Putin, we would already be living in a different country. Putin recognized Lukashenko's victory in the election, he called black white. That is, he refused to see the falsifications,' Tsikhanouski said. 'They help each other. Because of Putin, this illegal government is still in Belarus.' Some analysts have speculated that by releasing the charismatic and energetic Tsikhanouski, Belarusian authorities may be trying to sow division within the opposition. But Tsikhanouski insists he has no intention of challenging his wife's role as the internationally recognized head of the Belarusian opposition, and he calls for unity. 'Under no circumstances do I plan to criticize any Belarusians, condemn or complain about anyone," he said. Tsikhanouski says he will not stop fighting and wants to return to active work as both a political figure and a blogger. But he is skeptical that Lukashenko, now 70, will step down voluntarily, despite his age. 'I don't know anymore — will he go or won't he?' Tsikhanouski said. 'Many people say nothing will change until he dies. But I'm still counting on democratic forces winning.'
