Ohio University’s complicated history with the First Amendment and student expression

Photo via Sarah Donaldson/The New Political

The First Amendment outlines the protections of the rights to free speech, press, religion, petition and assembly — all of which are core aspects of living and learning on a college campus. Over the years, students at Ohio University have protested countless issues including overcrowding, faculty wages, rising tuition, social issues, wars, controversial political figures, environmental issues, civil rights, and the list goes on, according to Ohio U’s website. 

The importance of free press cannot be overstated. Over the years, student publications such as The Green and White, Afro-American Affairs and The Post discussed issues on campus from a student perspective. Another example is The Green Goat, a satirical magazine from the early to mid-20th century. As an independent publication financed by advertisements for local businesses and cigarettes, The Green Goat had the freedom to flirt with the socially taboo. They did not shy away from controversy, according to Ohio University Archivist Bill Kimok, from his 2020 lecture posted to YouTube, “A Somewhat Brief and Very Random History of Student Expression on Ohio University’s Campus 1812-2018.”

For example, in the 1950s, The Green Goat jokingly likened the Dean of Men, Maurel Hunkins, to Adolf Hitler, due to his unfavorable reputation among students as a strict disciplinarian. They also published a photo of a Nazi military parade involving tanks, captioned “Campus police exhibit the forward look with shiny new cars and other disciplinary equipment.” To his credit, Hunkins defended the publication when then-President John C. Baker expressed concern over the Hitler comparison. Hunkins was apprehensive of McCarthyism and argued that censorship of The Green Goat was unwarranted, according to Kimok.

Still, the Green Goat’s satirical humor was controversial. According to Kimok, they poked fun at their tenuous relationship with the university in one issue by stating: “This magazine is NOT a recognized publication of Ohio University. But to show that the GOAT holds no grudges, Ohio University is still a recognized institution of the Green Goat.” 

According to Ohio U’s “Statement of Commitment to Free Expression,” former University President Vernon R. Alden updated Ohio U’s free speech policy in 1962, stating that “freedom of inquiry and discussion is essential to a student’s educational development.” However, these rules began to change in response to riots and demonstrations around the time of the Vietnam War.

Ohio U’s policy changed again in 2015 following a lawsuit, Smith v. McDavis (2015). Students Defending Students (SDS) is an organization comprised of student volunteers who assist those who have allegedly violated the Student Code of Conduct as they navigate The Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility (CSSR)’s judicial process. When the organization was first founded in 1976, their slogan was “We get you off for free,” according to The Columbus Dispatch. 

The organization decided to bring the slogan back in 2014, featuring the joke on Student Senate-approved t-shirts that they wore at the annual involvement fair. 

University administrators objected to the shirts due to the “sexual innuendo,” arguing that the joke “objectified women” and “promoted prostitution,” according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). At the time, the Student Code of Conduct forbade anything that was “demeaning, denigrating or disgracing others,” according to Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, an Ohio U professor of Political Science and Law, Justice and Culture. It was also a violation of the Code of Conduct for students to “fail to comply with legitimate directives of university officials,” according to the complaint. So, when SDS was told that administrators “don’t want to see you wearing those again,” they stopped wearing the t-shirts, fearing disciplinary action. 

Isaac Smith was a 22-year-old SDS student who filed a lawsuit accusing the university of violating his First and 14th Amendment rights, receiving legal representation from FIRE. The Columbus Dispatch quotes Smith as saying, “I thought it was absurd. Usually in prostitution, there is a monetary exchange, not the whole ‘for free’ thing.” 

“The lawsuit was public knowledge that year,” Sullivan said. “There were articles in the newspapers about it … The issue drew attention to Isaac and the university.” The lawsuit concluded with a settlement in 2015, with Smith receiving $6,000 in damages and $26,000 in attorneys’ fees from the university. The university also updated the Code of Conduct to offer more protections for students’ First Amendment rights.

When asked about the story, SDS President Ashlyn Sleesman shared: “I heard people talking about it, and it’s something that, in a way, is kind of passed down through the org … we kind of wear it like a badge of honor, in a way. It’s a big part of our history.”

The organization doesn’t use the slogan anymore, because it isn’t technically true, according to Sleesman. SDS doesn’t exactly “get you off for free,” they offer students guidance and support. Nevertheless, “He stood up for what he believed in, but he also stood up for every student when he did that. I’m proud to be a fellow SDS member,” Sleesman said. 

The university has also been the site of many protests. In 2014, approximately 100 people gathered in Baker Center to protest the murder of Michael Brown, a Black teenager who was shot by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was unarmed. The protest was sparked by the Missouri grand jury’s ruling not to indict Wilson.

Baker closed at midnight, but students refused to leave. A student named Jacob Chaffin, equipped with a megaphone, declared that they were taking part in the history of Ohio U, citing the protests of the 1970s, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Although university administration threatened to use police force to escort the protesters from the premises, they relented and allowed the building to remain open. According to Kimok, university officials did not want to disrupt “the students coming together at this moment to heal and support one another.” No arrests were made, and all the protesters had peacefully left the building before 2:30 a.m.

A few years later, the story of “The Baker 70” played out differently. In February of 2017, a group of approximately 150 students, staff, and faculty, staged a sit-in protest in Baker Center. 

This followed a protest that was twice as large in front of the Athens County Courthouse, calling for Ohio U’s campus to be declared a “sanctuary campus” following President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. After being repeatedly asked to leave by Ohio University Police Department due to “safety concerns,” students were escorted from Baker Center in handcuffs. Those who refused to comply were charged with criminal trespassing. Only one student, Michael Mayberry, appeared in court. He was found “not guilty,” and the charges against the other students were dropped, according to the Athens News.

“These students were part of a much larger movement, a nationwide resistance to the first Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant policies,” Dr. Kirstine Taylor, a professor of Political Science and Law, Justice and Culture said. “When police on campus, right under the nose of the university’s administration, began ordering students to disperse — and arresting those who refused — we witnessed the criminalization of students exercising their First Amendment rights in their own student union.” 

Taylor also discussed the university’s action in the aftermath of the “Baker 70,” implementing a new “Freedom of Expression” policy over the summer of 2017 that curtailed the use of outdoor spaces and prohibited any form of protest inside university buildings. At the time, WOUB reported that “Meetings are about the only events permitted by the policy, and even then a space must be reserved ahead of time. Rallies, speeches, marches, demonstrations, and other forms of protest are not permitted by the policy.”

According to Taylor, the policy was widely criticized. The ACLU of Ohio sent a letter to the university, and their Staff Attorney Elizabeth Bonham said at the time, “Ohio University should be celebrating the tradition of student activism, not curtailing it.” The university backpedaled over the summer of 2018 and has since adopted a new policy. 

“The lesson stands for us: institutions can and do seek to limit citizens’ use of public space to act politically, and it often takes more pushing, more activism, and more criticism to ensure that our campuses and other public spaces remain Designated Public Forums where free speech is protected,” Taylor said.

Ohio U’s culture is as rich and vibrant as the campus itself and the people who populate it. Throughout our history, the uplifted voices of students and community members have been at the forefront of many movements, fueling that fire and taking steps toward positive change. As long as students know their rights and stand firm in their convictions, that legacy will live on.

This article was published as part of TNP’s Spring 2025 Print edition.