WHEN WE . March

Cataloging the history of student protests on these bricks.

BY KATRINA CARLSON PHOTOS BY PEARL SPURLOCK DESIGN BY

The goal of college students to promote social change is a theme that has been prominent for decades. With a history of protests in its past, Ohio University is no exception.

According to OU’s Statement of Commitment to Free Expression, “Freedom of expression is the foundation of an Ohio University education.” That foundation dates back quite far, as OU has dealt with issues ranging from problems in the classroom to national conflicts.

Out of the many protest events and groups, some of the most notable have been LGBTQIA+ and women’s rights. According to a 2003 article from The Post, students held a walkout and protest to express outrage against sexual violence and hate crimes on campus. More than 100 OU students and faculty attended this rally and demanded “LGBT friendly floors, the creation of an OU Women’s Center and mandatory sexual assault and hate crime prevention workshops for entering students.”

Today, OU has an established Women’s Center, which was opened in 2007, and the university has offices working to make a safe environment for all groups on campus.

Attention paid toward important social justice issues is just as significant in recent years, as students continue to come out and support their peers and larger communities.

One of OU’s most memorable student protests, causing disruption in student life and university policies, occurred in

2017. This protest has since been named the “Baker 70,” for the 70 student arrests that occurred on Feb. 1, 2017.

Following former President Donald Trump’s executive order on Jan. 27, 2017, which placed restrictions on immigrant travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, students, faculty and others assembled to hold a sit-in at Baker University Center. The concern among the public was the impact the executive order may have on Muslim students; many were calling for the university’s former President Duane Nellis to make a proactive response to the legislative changes in the interest of protecting affected students and faculty.

The protest began outside of Athens County Court House, a popular site for demonstrations, where people began to gather with signs with messages such as “No Wall, No Ban, Resist” and “Make Racists Afraid Again.”

The group then traveled to the fourth floor of Baker Center, where the peaceful sit-in began. About 150 protesters sat, according to a 2017 article from The Athens News, sharing political messages and personal sentiments, as well as breaking into song. Also according to the article, OU Police Department and state highway patrol had all officers present, and OUPD Chief Andrew Powers began delivering warnings to the protestors that arrests would begin if they did not leave. Arrests began later in the evening, with the reasoning that the sit-in was hazardous and possibly blocking entrances and exits, although other accounts claim that paths had been cleared at police requests.

Following police requests, 70 students were arrested and held in Baker Center Ballroom, charged with criminal trespassing.

The first of the cases to go to trial, concerning student protester Michael Mayberry, was dismissed by Athens Municipal Court Judge Todd Grace. The decision was determined on the precedent set by a protest in 2014, where the university allowed a sit-in at Baker Center, even allowing the protesters to stay after the building closed.

Eventually, 15 of the arrested protesters pled no-contest to the charges before, finally, the other 54 charges were dropped.

Patty Stokes, an associate professor of instruction in women’s gender and sexuality studies and a feminist, heard about the event through her students and went to check it out. She did not stick around for long. Her son, however, had seen the whole thing. After arrived home, shaken by the arrests he witnessed, Stokes decided to act in her own way to show support for the arrested protesters.

“By the end of the evening, it was clear that mass arrests had occurred, and I was outraged,” Stokes says. “Then I said, ‘I think we need to have a demonstration ASAP, and we should sing. We should show that we are as peaceful as these people when they were being arrested.’”

Prior to this “sing-in,” however, Stokes received an email from OUPD Chief Powers warning her against hosting this event to prevent possible further arrests. This did not deter the group; they decided to meet anyway as they originally planned.

“It was clear to me that we were a small enough group and nimble enough group that we could keep moving if we needed to,” Stokes says. “We knew that there was a threat there that was, in a way, intended to stop us, but it was an asset that we knew. We had to be careful about it.”

Following the aftermath of the Baker 70 and the sing-in led by Stokes, OU attempted to implement an even more restrictive free-speech policy, called the “Freedom of Expression Policy,” which Stokes, among other faculty members, wrote to advise against.

This interim speech policy was an overall ban on indoor protests on OU’s campus, to which the American Civil Liberties Union heavily warned the university against, under the reasoning that the ban was unconstitutional, according to a 2017 article from The Columbus Dispatch. In response to the feedback they received, an advisory group was formed to revise the policy. In 2018, new and less-restrictive policies were established, according to a letter sent from Nellis and other administrators to students and faculty.

Stokes stands by her actions and outspoken nature and encourages other students and faculty to get involved when they have the opportunity.

“I am a stubborn cuss,” Stokes says, “When I see something that is right, and I know it’s right, and it’s being attacked, and I know that the attacks are unjust, I just dig my feet in, and that’s who I am.”

Students continue to make their beliefs known, not only by organizing their own protests, but also organizing against certain groups coming to protest on campus.

A recent protest occurred on Oct.18, 2022, with religiousaffiliated protestors arriving on campus to protest abortion. Standing on the corner of Howard Park across from Schoonover Center, the protestors arrived with signs and megaphones, attracting the attention of many passing students. Soon, a group formed with the goal of counteracting the visitors’ message.

One of the attending students, Zach Richard, a freshman studying journalism, says he and several other students used black tarps to block upsetting and false imagery of abortion procedures shown on the signs, while others argued their views with the protestors. Richard says blocking the protesters’ signs was important because the content shown was possibly triggering to other students present on campus.

Another student, Jordan Tabasky, a freshman studying music therapy, says she was walking from Glidden Hall when she noticed the protest, and she brought her guitar out to help create some peace in the commotion.

“It seemed like it was getting really loud, and it just didn’t really seem like it was going anywhere,” Tabasky says. “I’ve seen people bring music to protests, and it seems to make it so that everybody stops yelling at each other long enough to actually have a conversation, and that’s kind of what happened.”

Students at the protest stopped to sing along to songs like “American Pie” by Don McLean and “Hotel California” by Eagles. Tabasky’s music calmed the crowd, encouraging protesters to start meaningful conversations.

“It’s important to me to protect andeducate people and to not just throw around hate, but to actually teach people what they don’t know,” Tabasky says.

These demonstrations are also a great opportunity for students to explore topics they feel strongly about in ways they never have before.

“College is really where I’m expanding my involvement,” Richard says, who was previously unable to participatein protests due to COVID-19 restraints in the area he grew up. “I want to continue more next semester.”

Richard says he feels strongly aligned with the demonstrations held because he identifies as queer, as well as being strongly allied with other marginalized groups.

“If you’re going to protest against someone’s literal rights to be themselves or have health care, then of course, people are going to rise up and cancel it out,” Richard says. “What I’ve been a part of has been important because it doesn’t really spread positivity, but it negates negativity. It is significant because it makes people fit.”

He attends events concerning homophobia and transphobia, including a protest on Jan. 21, held against alleged transphobia Artifacts Gallery owner Amy Manago has propagated in her store. The protest amassed a crowd of about 100 people, with individuals chanting phrases and holding signs with messages such as “No TERFS on our Turf” and “Trans Rights are Human Rights.”

If one thing is certain surrounding these protesting and counter-protesting actions, it is that students demand to have their voices heard.

“If you are angry and you do nothing about it, nothing will happen,” Tabasky says. “I feel like protesting is one of the best ways to make people’s voices heard, especially for people who don’t exactly know [how] to reach out to make their voices heard.”

Stokes’ outlook and advice to these students is simple: “I want them to keep doing it. Be smart about it. Know your rights. Know your legal rights … The way to meet speech is with other speech, and counter-protesting is cool.” b