Students from Cleveland State University protested April 17 against Ohio Senate Bill 1, targeting an event at the City Club of Cleveland where the bill’s sponsor, Republican state senator Jerry Cirino, was speaking.

Organized by the Student Coalition, the demonstration began at 11:30 a.m. in the CSU campus courtyard, where opponents of the controversial bill denounced the legislation as a threat to academic freedom and free speech. Protesters then marched to the City Club to continue their demonstration during Cirino’s address inside.

“SB1 is about control, not education,” said a student organizer. “We came here today because our classrooms and campuses should not be turned into political battlegrounds.”

Senate Bill 1, introduced by Cirino (R-Kirtland), proposes a restructuring of higher education governance in Ohio. It seeks to limit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, increase state oversight of academic content, and shut down what Cirino considers liberal bias in faculty hiring and instruction.

Ohio's Republican governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law March 28, triggering a 90-day period during which the state's public universities must arrange for its implementation.

Speaking at the City Club, Cirino defended the bill, saying it aims to “restore intellectual diversity and balance” at public universities.

“We are not kidding around," Cirino said. "This law will not be ignored. It will be welcomed and it will be implemented at our universities and community colleges.”

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Students gathered outside the venue holding signs and chanting slogans like “protect academic freedom” and “Jerry Cirino, listen to us.” Many accused the senator of silencing dissent rather than promoting genuine debate, the very opposite of what his bill purports to encourage.

“It’s ironic he’s speaking about free thought while pushing a bill that limits it,” one CSU senior said from the sidewalk outside the City Club.

The protest is part of a growing wave of student activism across Ohio campuses in response to SB1, which critics have denounced as an attack on long-standing academic traditions that have ensured Ohio's public universities are meeting their state-mandated obligations to the community. 

Organizers at Cleveland State say they plan to continue opposing the bill through public demonstrations and campus organizing.

“We’re not going to sit back while lawmakers rewrite what education looks like,” a student protester said. “This is about the future of our universities—and we’re not giving up.”

Educators in Ohio have also not given up their opposition to the bill. A group of professors at Youngstown University is spearheading a group effort to force a statewide referendum on the bill onto the ballot in November.