“We must show up for every Black student, and every marginalized student, and demand that our institutions fight for DEI on campus.”
I’ll never forget the day I stepped onto Ohio State’s campus for the first time, a college freshman in the middle of the pandemic moving out of state and starting classes on Zoom. While I never thought Ohio State was where I would end up, the main reason for my attendance can be attributed to the Morrill Scholarship Program.
The Morrill Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that recognizes academically talented high school seniors who will contribute to campus diversity and actively engage as advocates and champions of diversity, inclusion, social justice, and academic excellence. The scholarship, housed in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, has allowed students from all over the country to make Ohio State home. From acceptance into the scholarship program to walking across the stage last May, I have never been prouder to be a Buckeye — until recently.
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As a graduate of The Ohio State University and a proud recipient of the Morrill Scholarship, I was sold on the promise that this institution valued diversity, equity, and inclusion. These values, listed proudly on their website, had been proven to be a part of the university’s fabric, an essential component of making Ohio State the university it is today.
And now, that fabric is being torn apart.
Ohio State University, my alma mater, has decided to shut down offices that were crucial to my success and achievement, the Center for Belonging and Inclusion and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The gutting of DEI work, stripping away resources, the initiatives, and the lifeblood of what makes students on campus has ruined the very school that I was once proud to attend. Now, we are left with nothing but a hollow shell of what was once a commitment to change.
#DiversityAndInclusion #CollegeDEI #EducationalEquity
