Letters to the Editor: Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025

Ohio legislators have made it clear that they are willing to sacrifice their young on the alter of self-aggrandizement. Senate Bill One (SB1) is an effort to codify an ideological agenda at the expense of societal wellbeing.

According to the Ohio Capital Journal, Ohio House Rep. Bob Young, R-Dayton suggests that rather than concentrating on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ban, we should, “…truly focus on why we’re here and who we are in higher education, and that is to educate a workforce to compete globally and grow Ohio and jobs and families and attract more people to come in.” This statement illustrates just how unaware our lawmakers are about the reality of the labor force. The very reason that many organizations do DEI training is so that they are able to attract the best and the brightest. Many high-performing companies offered same-sex partner benefits before marriage equality became law for this very reason, because it gave them an edge, an advantage, to attract those employees who were at the top of their fields, regardless of their sexuality.