(Columbus, Ohio, 2/12/2025) Yesterday at the Ohio Statehouse, hundreds gathered to testify in front of the Ohio Senate Higher Education Committee in an opponent testimony hearing for Senate Bill 1.
Staff from The CAIR-Ohio, Columbus and Cleveland chapters were in attendance and among the many awaiting turn to speak. The 75-page bill proposes suppressive measures that will result in the criminalization of “controversial” opinions or materials shared in class in favor of “neutrality,’’ which includes banning faculty strikes and publicizing class syllabi as well as the dismantling of all DEI structures within Ohio’s public universities.
Minority students, faculty, staff, and religious and culture-based groups will be particularly impacted. The bill blocks access to culturally competent services and institutional support as it strips away DEI funding and resources. It includes banning orientations, training, offices or departments, and any DEI-specific scholarships and initiatives. Similar policies in other states have led to crackdowns on pro-Palestinian activism and increased islamophobia as it emboldened far-right groups to misuse “neutrality’’ and “free speech” protections to justify hate speech on campuses.
“As an organization dedicated to promoting justice, protecting civil rights, and ensuring equity for all Ohioans, we are deeply concerned that SB 1 creates an unprecedented framework for state overreach in higher education. This bill threatens to stifle open dialogue and undermine the very principles that make Ohio’s universities spaces for intellectual growth and civic engagement,’ wrote CAIR-Ohio Columbus Legal Director Jwayyed Jwayyed in his testimony. “Moreover, this bill raises constitutional concerns. [SB1] is vague, overbroad, and ripe for misuse in its requirements for universities to remain ‘neutral.’ It would give state schools broad discretion to suppress speech the state disfavors, while permitting other viewpoints, effectively promoting viewpoint discrimination.’’
At the Ohio Statehouse, the opponent hearing spanned nearly eight hours with more than two hundred oral and eight hundred written testimonies submitted. CAIR-Ohio Columbus staff in attendance included Legal Director Jwayyed Jwayyed, Legal Assistant Raneem Albawab, Outreach Coordinator Caisha Abdullahi, and Communications Coordinator Sara Abou Rashed, who also submitted a personal testimony calling this bill “one rooted in fear, not protection. A bill, ultimately, asking us to be afraid of each other, of our stories.’’
CAIR-Ohio is committed to pursuing any incidents of harassment, discrimination, or intimidation to protect the civil rights, dignity, and safety of all individuals, regardless of their background, beliefs, or identity. To report an incident, file this form.
