Hundreds of University of Cincinnati students, faculty, staff and community members gathered early Tuesday morning to protest the university’s rollback of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, as well as new “biological” bathroom signs on campus.
Protesters with signs saying “WE SEE. DO U.C?” and “DO NOT COMPLY IN ADVANCE” surrounded the university’s Teachers-Dyer Complex as the board gathered for their first meeting in 2025. Hundreds of protesters made their way through the building’s halls, demanding to be let inside. Dozens were eventually granted entry, including CityBeat.
Competing with the thunderous sound of shouts and banging fists from demonstrators left in the halls, UC President Neville Pinto attempted to address the angry crowd.
“I want you to know that we see you and hear you,” Pinto said. “These are legitimate reactions to significant change.”
What’s happening?
The outrage stems from UC’s apparent readiness to comply with state and federal orders to eliminate DEI programs – everything from the African American Cultural & Resource Center to the campus Women’s Center and LGBTQ Center – but these orders have yet to become law.
The chief concern among Tuesday’s protesters was the potential impacts of Senate Bill 1 — the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act — a bill that takes square aim at DEI in Ohio’s public colleges. The bill was introduced by Republicans and passed by the Ohio Senate last week. SB 1 now heads to the Ohio House for consideration where a companion bill – House Bill 6, the Enact Advance Ohio Higher Education Act – sits in committee.
SB 1 would ban all diversity and inclusion efforts at all Ohio public universities and community colleges and limit diversity scholarships. The bill would also require students to take an American history course and set rules around classroom discussions with topics involving “controversial beliefs,” which the bill defines as “any belief or policy that is the subject of political controversy.”
According to the bill, these topics would include:
- Climate policies
- Electoral politics
- Foreign policy
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs
- Immigration
- Marriage
- Abortion
The bill also prevents faculty from striking and shortens university board of trustees terms from nine years down to six years, among other things.
SB 1 will need to pass the Ohio House – which is dominated by Republicans – before getting Gov. Mike DeWine’s signature to become law. DeWine has the power to veto the bill, but lawmakers could override his veto with a 3/5 vote from each chamber, which lawmakers have done in recent history.
Undergraduate Student Trustee Joseph Cortas represents UC’s undergraduate population in board meetings. He told the board that students will suffer under the parameters of SB 1.
“More than any time in recent history, our students’ collegiate experiences are not exclusively of their own choosing,” Cortas said. “We did not seek, nor did we provoke, a deconstruction of systems seeking to protect, support and sustain us. We did not expect, nor did we invite, fear into and onto our campus and into our classrooms.”
But SB 1 does not loom alone over UC. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull funding for any university across the country found to be promoting DEI initiatives. This came in the form of two executive orders authored by the president during his first days in office: one directing federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts, another requiring federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI.
On Friday, a federal court in Maryland preliminarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing key provisions of his executive orders, arguing the provisions are unconstitutionally vague and infringe free speech rights.
The Trump administration will likely appeal the preliminary injunction ruling, meaning there’s a chance the core questions of DEI could fall before the United States Supreme Court.
Before the federal court blocked Trump’s DEI executive orders, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a sweeping “Dear Colleague” letter declaring all race-conscious student programming, resources and financial aid illegal, threatening to pull federal funds from schools that do not comply by Feb. 28. The letter cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as precedent, but the ruling only struck down affirmative action in college admissions. Still, the Trump administration believes it extends to all DEI-related programs in colleges.
How UC is responding
Despite the federal injunction on Trump’s orders – and SB 1 not yet at DeWine’s desk – Pinto released a statement on Friday, saying UC would roll back its DEI programming.
“As you are no doubt aware, the federal government has effectively outlawed DEI programs and practices within government entities, including public universities nationwide,” Pinto wrote. “Given the extent to which our university, like most educational institutions, relies on federal funding to deliver and sustain our core mission, it is untenable to operate as if noncompliance with these directives is an effective option.”
The letter goes on to explain that UC has started the process of examining its DEI programming and is “evaluating jobs and duties related to DEI.” References to DEI principles are also being removed from UC’s website, social media and other materials.
“Honestly, why are y’all making these decisions when [SB 1] hasn’t even passed the House yet?” one protester asked the board. “If the government can’t enforce it, why can the schools?”
“Class of 2029 has already seen that email,” said Christian Caffey, a third-year criminal justice student. “Your incoming class has already seen that email. Dammit, if you won’t listen to us, that money gonna talk, and that money gonna start speaking real different when that amount of tuition starts going down.”
In response to protesters’ frustration, Pinto confirmed that all DEI-related programming would continue on campus, pending the outcome of SB 1 and the federal injunction on Trump’s executive orders.
“Right now, all of the programs we have can continue,” Pinto said. “SB 1 has not been passed yet.”
Pinto and other board members promised open discussions with students and staff as the university awaits legal outcomes, but protesters argued that the university has not done enough to engage with those who would be impacted in the first place.
“Do you guys know what students are in charge? What students are active?” said one protester to the board. “Because you’re saying we’re gonna do stuff, I haven’t seen nothing. You haven’t contacted [UC African Student Association], [United Black Student Association], UC Caribbean Coalition, you haven’t contacted the Women’s Center, the LGBTQ Center. Why aren’t y’all talking to the student leaders? Where’s the transparency?”
Faculty Senate Chair Tamika Odum, who represents UC faculty in board meetings, confirmed in her testimony that student leadership has only recently been invited to the table for discussions.
“President Pinto, we urge you to go beyond communicating with us about the changes that lie ahead: We are asking that you invite us, both faculty, staff and students to the conversation,” Odum said. “Last night you invited leadership from undergraduate student government, graduate student government, faculty senate and staff senate to discuss the future. This was a first step to working more collaboratively towards a future we can be proud of.”
“Biological” bathroom signs
Pinto did not address in his public letter the already public changes to bathroom signs on campus, sparking widespread backlash on social media.
On Friday, students began sharing photos of new campus bathroom signs, which read “biological men” and “biological women,” a warning to transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming students and staff that they are not welcome in the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
A university spokesperson reportedly confirmed to WLWT that the signs were placed in response to Senate Bill 104, commonly known as the “Bathroom Bill.” The bill, passed last year by the Ohio Legislature, bans students from accessing bathrooms that do not conform with their sex assigned at birth. Gov. DeWine signed the bill into law in November.
The only portion of SB 104 that mentions bathroom signage language says: “Each institution of higher education shall designate with clear signage each student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room accessible by multiple students at the same time for the exclusive use by students of the male biological sex only or by students of the female biological sex only.”
CityBeat previously spoke with Ryan Thoreson, an assistant professor of constitutional law at the UC College of Law, who emphasized that he is not speaking on behalf of the university. He said the bill’s language does not suggest schools must include the word “biological” on bathroom signs.
“I don’t think that the bill as written requires that the university adopt this kind of language, and I’m actually not aware of any other universities adopting language like this in response to a bathroom bill,” Thoreson said. “The portion of the bill that refers to the signs could have given sample language if they intended sample language to be used. It could have put language in quotation marks that was required to be used.”
During Tuesday’s Board of Trustees Meeting, CityBeat asked if the university believed the word “biological” was required to be on bathroom signs in order to meet compliance for the new law, despite no other universities apparently doing the same.
“That was an error,” Pinto responded, causing protesters to vocally erupt, muffling the rest of his response.
“You told me you would advocate for trans people!” yelled one protester. “I’m one of few faculty on campus, what are you doing for me? What are you doing for other trans people on campus? All you’re doing is capitulating!”
CityBeat asked the board if the university plans to enforce the bathroom policy, but got no answer.
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This article appears in Feb 19 – Mar 4, 2025.