Dear Editor:
I am writing to you because recently, the University of Cincinnati has decided to spend money and effort to replace residence hall bathroom signs to specify for “biological” men and women as a result of an Ohio bill being passed. This has caused a lot of uproar in students, especially because UC is home to so many LGBT+ students. I myself have friends in my major who are transgender and nonbinary, and this will be directly affecting them.
After emailing the president of the University, he sent out a mass email to the student body saying that the University will be getting rid of all traces of DEI in classes, social media, scholarships and more. This new statement is terrifying for the diverse student body who attend this institution. Although it is because of the current Trump Administration’s new regulations, but the University of Cincinnati was the FIRST in this region to begin this as soon as possible, marking themselves (sic) as the precedent in showing their students do not matter.
I think speaking on this issue would be important to help get the word out about how everything that is happening in our government right now is directly affecting places like our colleges, making our homes here feel unsafe and making the students that pay thousands of dollars every year feel like they do not matter to this institution at all.
Hailey Smith
Interior Design
College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning
University of Cincinnati