Reshaping Ohio higher education in President Trump's image: Tristan Rader

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Senate Bill 1, recently passed by the Ohio Senate, poses a significant threat to the foundational principles of our higher education system. This legislation undermines academic freedom, suppresses diverse perspectives, and imposes a restrictive ideological framework on public colleges and universities. It’s the latest attempt to reshape public education in the image of President Donald Trump — a vision where political loyalty trumps intellectual inquiry, dissent is punished, and education is turned into an echo chamber for right-wing orthodoxy.

 
 
By banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the bill effectively dismantles essential support systems for marginalized communities while limiting university outreach efforts. These actions don’t just target specific programs; they are part of a broader movement to erase the progress made toward racial, gender, and economic justice in education. This is the same culture-war strategy Trump and his allies have used for years — demonizing efforts to level the playing field, labeling them as radical or unnecessary, while actively working to preserve the inequalities that benefit the wealthy and powerful.

 
 
SB 1’s prohibition on faculty strikes and the introduction of post-tenure reviews are tools of intimidation, discouraging educators from engaging in critical conversations and research that moves all of society forward in a myriad of subject areas. This is a page straight out of Trump’s playbook — go after the experts, the scientists, the historians, the academics — anyone whose knowledge and research might challenge the “preferred” political narrative. When politicians get to decide which topics are “acceptable” for discussion, we don’t get education. We get disinformation.

 
 
Mandating specific subjects with prescribed readings raises significant concerns about academic autonomy and the potential for indoctrination. Coupled with the threat of harsh evaluations and possible termination for faculty who deviate from legislatively imposed guidelines or engage with topics deemed “controversial,” this bill creates an environment where professors must choose between teaching the truth or keeping their jobs. It’s the kind of ideological purity test we’ve seen in authoritarian regimes, now being imposed right here in Ohio. Education should foster critical thinking and expose students to a multitude of perspectives, not confine them to a single narrative dictated by political agendas.

 
 
Furthermore, requiring public disclosure of detailed syllabi and instructors' personal information exposes educators to potential harassment, infringing upon their privacy and academic freedom. We’ve already seen how Trump-style politics embolden harassment campaigns against teachers, school boards, and librarians. Now, Ohio lawmakers want to hand those same bad actors a roadmap to target professors who dare to teach science, facts, and truth.