By Eduardo Miranda Strobel / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Protests at Ohio universities may look different this fall.

A new law is requiring higher education institutions to adopt and enforce policies addressing racial, religious and ethnic harassment. The universities must also publish guidelines on student protest restrictions, provide comprehensive training for staff and establish procedures for investigating complaints, allowing for anonymous submissions.

"I am never against the ability for students to use their First Amendment rights," said State Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus), a sponsor of House Bill 606. "My hope is through our bill is that we tamp down on the number incidences that lead to hateful acts on campuses, discrimination, harassment because of who they love, what they look like, with their religion or ethnic identity."

The Enact CAMPUS Act (Campus Accountability and Modernization to Protect University Students) originated from the campus protests that spread across the United States in the past year because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. There were reports of antisemitism related to these protests.

The bipartisan legislation was passed in the House and Senate sessions in June as an amendment to Senate Bill 94, which covers a range of topics from administrative reforms to technology and court procedures. Governor Mike DeWine signed it into law in July.

Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, Ohio University, Miami University, Oberlin College and Denison University had protests this past spring. Thirty-six arrests for alleged criminal trespassing were made at Ohio State, including students, a staff member and supporters unrelated to the institution. At Case Western Reserve, 20 protesters were detained and eventually released from police custody.

"I had a group of constituents reach out to me about trying to put together a bill to protect students on campus. Obviously, this was during a time of a lot of the encampments that was happening across our nation," Jarrells said. "There were other students who reached out as we were putting together the bill who also shared their own stories related to the rises in racial, religious or ethnic, ethnically charged acts of harassment."

With the legislation, colleges will also be tasked with tracking and reporting hate incidents annually and implementing grant programs to enhance student safety during campus events.

"We crafted a bill that I think really speaks to the diversity of realities that are on college campuses without sacrificing the ability for folks to use their First Amendment rights," Jarrells said.

Protesters urged universities to divest their finances from organizations related to Israel. In Ohio, the Revised Code Section 9.76 does not allow divestment by public universities to happen since those universities must maintain non-discriminatory commercial relations with certain jurisdictions if they wish to engage in contracts with state agencies.

"The administration at Case Western Reserve is very resolute in their stances on refusing to say divest from Israel or cut their ties with Israeli institutions," said Adam Saar, a Case student and founder of the university's Jewish Student Union.

He said he was dismayed by how the protesters conducted themselves on Case's campus.

"A lot of the rhetoric that was used that is antisemitic beyond just criticism of Israel," he said. "As an Israeli myself, I can be very critical of my government, but walking through campus and hearing calls for an intifada or for Israel to be wiped off the map is not a safe or positive environment to be in on campus."

Yaseen Shaikh, a May 2024 Kent State graduate and former president of Students for Justice in Palestine on Kent's campus, said Ohio officials overlook the cause of the student protests.

"It is truly horrendous that our elected officials that are supposed to represent us would rather harm our ability to protest it than to actually do something about ending the genocide," Shaikh said. "Rather than them looking at the cause of these protests and understanding that these universities are complicit in the genocide by working with security companies and contractors that are directly involved in this genocide, they instead choose to look at the effect, which is that students are outraged."

Shaikh said Students for Justice in Palestine held several campus protests at Kent State, and he followed accounts of protest activities at other campuses across the country.

"We need to be very careful as to what we qualify as harassment in this dialogue and in this discourse," he said. "When we see people advocating against genocide, against apartheid, for human rights, and are doing so in public, are doing so in a manner that, yes, it may make people uncomfortable, but uncomfortable is very different from being harassed."

Shaikh said the legislation restricts freedom of speech and protest, but Saar said it is helpful.

"I think the fact that the state is mandating that universities have a transparent way of dealing with these issues, of dealing with cases of harassment and discrimination, and are forced to tackle it, is a very positive thing," Saar said.

He hopes that everyone, including Jewish and Muslim students, will feel safe and supported in their campus communities going forward.


This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Latino students in Tennessee and nationwide apply for financial aid at higher rates than some other ethnic groups, according to new research but they receive the lowest average awards.

The most recent trend data from Excelencia in Education show 85% of Latino students applied, and 71% received college financial aid, as new executive actions affect higher education funding.

Emily Labandera, director of research for the group, said first-generation Latino students prefer to leverage grant aid instead of student loans.

"They're not as likely to accept student loans that are offered to them if they are offered as part of their package," Labandera explained. "Latino students and their families are more averse to taking out loans. They don't really see loans as a financial aid 'award.'"

She pointed out a high number of Latino students who attend community college work at least 30 hours a week, go to school part-time, or live off-campus or with family to help them avoid having to use federal financial aid.

Labandera noted 45 higher-ed institutions have earned her group's "Seal of Excelencia" and are working to make college more affordable for Latino, and all, students.

"They might be offering paid internships or they have partnerships with employers in their area that are really connecting their students to those opportunities," Labandera outlined. "The students are getting 'real live' skill sets, particularly in their areas of interest or in their field of study."

She added some colleges recognize unexpected financial challenges, even a $500 emergency, may push students out of school, so some offer special forms of aid for urgent needs. Many also provide full tuition scholarships based on family income, helping lower-income students stay enrolled.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

A new report shows Illinois youth now have more apprenticeship and internship opportunities, with an increase in women and minority participation but significant disparities in representation remain.

The study by the workforce development organization SkillsUSA and Northern Illinois University found the number of women in apprenticeships has doubled since 2019.

Jason Klein, senior director of learning partnerships at Northern Illinois University, said apprenticeship and internship opportunities for women are often low-paying or unpaid, which can limit their options in the workforce.

"That really limits student access to them," Klein explained. "Lots of students then have to choose between an internship or a paid job doing something else, which may not be contributing towards their movement forward within a desired career pathway."

Klein added research also shows internships and apprenticeships can increase wages for students by as much as 115%.

Illinois had more than 20,000 active registered apprentices in 2024, with 75% of them in the construction industry. Klein noted the increase is partially due to College and Career Pathway Endorsements and the state's Post-Secondary and Workforce Readiness Act.

However, he pointed out only a small percentage of students benefit from the opportunities.

"This is still relatively new policy," Klein stressed. "Given that, to what degree does educational leadership and community leadership impact this? So there's a lot of room for us to continue to study this and we hope to be able to do that."

Klein emphasized they want to study more districts offering a high number of work-based learning opportunities, since typical indicators of success like funding, location and size were inconsistent. He added better data collection is needed to help understand how schools can improve what they offer to students.

"We know that human beings learn best when the learning is not only super engaging, but deeply meaningful to them personally," Klein observed. "The best way to do that is by making learning authentic. That's, I think, the biggest argument for why this work needs to take place."

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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A bill passed by Virginia lawmakers would expand higher education opportunities to incarcerated people across the state.

House Bill 2158 aims to help community colleges partner with prisons to help people in jail get started on an associate's degree.

Currently, 70% of incarcerated people in Virginia are arrested again within three years of their release. David Coogan is an English professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and the founder of Open Minds, a prison education program that works at the Richmond City Jail.

He said education programs are one of the best ways to make sure people don't end up back in jail.

"The higher you go in education in prison, the less likely you are to go back to prison, to reoffend," said Coogan. "If you go all the way up to a PhD, it's like next to no chance - but most people with just a college degree or even a master's, you significantly reduce your chance of reoffending. "

People behind bars who receive a bachelor's degree have just over a 5% chance of going back to jail, according to the American Association of Colleges and Universities.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has until May 2 to sign the bill into law.

Prison education could also cut costs for Virginia taxpayers. The Justice Policy Institute found that expanding education in prisons could save the state $365 million.

Coogan said he is hopeful that the bill would give incarcerated people a second chance.

"It's a mistake for people in society to think that, because of the one bad thing that they did, that they ought not to have a chance to learn how to be good, and be their best selves," said Coogan. "I'm in favor of the bill. I hope it organizes some kind of clarity and consensus around how we in higher education can deliver to the people in prison, because that's been lacking in Virginia."

In Virginia, 11 out of 45 correctional facilities offer college courses. The programs often face issues related to capacity and eligibility, leaving some without the chance to pursue their education.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.



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