{"id":2243,"date":"2025-03-04T16:06:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T21:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/?post_type=article&p=2243"},"modified":"2025-03-04T16:21:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T21:21:46","slug":"mia-lewis-speaks-to-attacks-on-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/articles\/mia-lewis-speaks-to-attacks-on-higher-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Mia Lewis Speaks to Attacks on Higher Education"},"template":"","class_list":["post-2243","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":"","article_type":153,"authors":"","related_issues":false,"related_work":false,"location":38},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":" \r\n

Mia Lewis, Associate Director at Common Cause Ohio, spoke to the attacks on higher education through Senate Bill 1 in front of a large group at Ohio State University<\/p>\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nOur Ohio Senators & Representatives were given an assignment: <\/span>What is the best way to<\/b> ensure that Ohio\u2019s public universities continue to excel, to attract talent from far and wide, and to act as economic engines powering our state?\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\nTheir answer? <\/span>Ban diversity, equity and inclusion<\/b> and discussion of \u201ccontroversial\u201d topics. Create a regime of censorship, fear and control. Make public universities in Ohio unappealing to the best students and professors\u2026<\/span>\r\n\r\nSeriously, this is the best they could come up with?<\/b> What grade do you give them, folks?\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s not as if our legislators lacked time or input to complete the assignment. They\u2019ve been at this since last year and have had feedback on their draft paper from so many of you! They\u2019ve heard from professors, students, experts, thought leaders, editorial boards\u2026 It was a practical tsunami of opposition.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nLast year, over 600 Ohioans submitted testimony opposing Senate Bill 83, and in person testimony went into the night. That evening, the Ohio Channel was riveting, <\/span>much-watch TV<\/b>!<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut, apparently Sen. Cirino and Co. didn\u2019t get the <\/span>\u201cHell no!\u201d<\/b> message loud enough, because this year, right off the bat, they decided to go for it again.<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\nI\u2019m sure many of the professors here would be happy to share this <\/span>Pro-tip: if you get an F on an assignment, don\u2019t change the font and re-submit!<\/b>\r\n\r\nSo now we have SB1. How\u2019s that going? <\/span>More<\/b> hours of riveting, must-watch in person testimony, and so far <\/span>over 1,000 pieces of written opponent testimony<\/b> submitted.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nListening to and reading those testimonies, I LEARNED so much from you all. I learned about the power of diversity, equity and inclusion to improve lives for all, about the pride and care professors take in creating an atmosphere of freedom of thought and respect in the classroom, about the importance of our universities as drivers of scientific, technological and economic progress\u2026\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat did our senators learn? <\/span>Not so much.\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\nAnd after those long hours of truly brilliant, inspiring, rousing testimony, how long did it take 5 members to pass the bill out of committee? 5 minutes? 10?\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAllow me to ask a few rhetorical questions:\u00a0<\/b>\r\n