Student Senate passed a “campus bigotry” bill April 2, after a third-degree misdemeanor incident in which a student damaged Student Senate property in a prejudiced manner.
The Ohio University Police Department received a call March 20 about a hate crime, which reported an 18-year-old student stomping on LGBTQIA+ flags that were staked in the grass of Howard Park. The student was yelling homophobic slurs during this action as well.
The flags were put in by the LGBTQIA+ commission and the Pride Center in support of people who identify themselves as LGBTQIA+ during Student Senate's Pride Week. Students and faculty were encouraged to take a flag in support, but hate overtook them.
“The LGBTQIA+ Affairs Commission put in a lot of work putting up those flags,” Student Senate President Dan Gordillo said. “These are my co-workers, these are my colleagues, and I know how much time they put in there.”
The bill addresses acts of homophobia, racism and other forms of bigotry on Ohio University’s campuses, like the one that occurred in March. It states that, due to the media focus on Senate Bill 1, students feel entitled to express their views towards minority groups in discriminatory ways.
Senate Bill 1 removes diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs at public colleges, which would reduce how colleges can shape students' political opinions, according to the Associated Press.
“I've kind of become aware of the fact that we're going to have to support them (minority groups) a lot more next year, following the passing of the legislation of Senate Bill 1,” Commissioner for LGBTQIA+ Affairs and freshman majoring in psychology and studio art, Sage Kerrigan-Christ, said.
Bill sponsors include Kerrigan-Christ and secondary sponsors, Senator for Governmental Affairs Mark Vitelli and Jayson Smith, Senator for Governmental Affairs.
“This threat is exacerbated by the current vacuum of federal leadership on the issue of education and particularly the uncertainty around protections derived from Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,” the bill states.
Kerrigan-Christ said this bill stands as a catalyst for the start of increasing support for minority groups on campus. With Senate Bill 1 receiving a lot of media attention, there is no question that people are exercising their free speech in hateful, discriminatory ways.
“There are multiple other instances of campus bigotry, such as people shouting racial slurs at people,” Kerrigan-Christ said. “Also, there was this Twitter post where someone made a rude remark, and it was just a picture of a presumably queer person just existing.”
“We wanted to compose a bill where we would show our support for the people that this big issue was happening to, just to show them that we're in support of them and that they do have a voice,” Kerrigan-Christ added.
According to Gordillo, the bill was sent to relevant university administrators to become aware of the topic and to show support and take appropriate action in the case of increasing bigotry incidents.
“I felt disgusted,” Kerrigan-Christ said regarding the viral video. “It was very early in the day, so it made for a bad day, and it made me think about all of the people who might have seen that video and felt terrible because it was literally just a display, and someone felt the need to destroy it.”
The Vice Commissioner of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, Kelsi Saunders, commented on the topic of bigotry incidents by saying that the LGBTQIA+ community on campus has the right to feel safe and supported on OU’s campus.
“We stand in solidarity with every person hurt or angered by these deplorable acts,” Saunders said in an email. “Our strength lies in our resilience, and we remain committed to championing visibility, justice and dignity in the face of hatred.”
