THENS, Ohio (WCMH) — Just days after Ohio University announced that it had put the Black Alumni Reunion on hold, the university’s Lancaster campus has now paused its annual Celebrate Women conference, citing concerns that its programming may not comply with new federal guidelines.
The event was set to take place on March 21, in honor of Women’s History Month. People said that after the Black Alumni Reunion was paused, they anticipated other events would follow that same fate.
“I was disappointed, but not surprised,” said Michelle Calloway, an Ohio University alum.
She believes that cancellation of the Celebrate Women event is a result of the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter the university received from the federal government. That letter was released on Feb. 14 and gave public school districts and universities two weeks to stop any programs teaching about systemic racism.
“Women’s history events typically tend to fall under DEI as well, so I think they were just kind of going down the gamut of what was next and trying to play it safe,” Calloway said.
Calloway said celebrating Women’s History Month was a huge part of her time at the school during her undergrad days. She’s worried that more events like Celebrate Women may be paused in the future.
“One of our main buildings on the campus was named after a woman, a really impactful female graduate,” Calloway said. “We have one of our scholarships that was named after the first Black woman to graduate from the university.”
The Celebrate Women event is in its 19th year. Event organizers said that it has sold out the past couple of years.
In a letter announcing its decision, the university referenced recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The OU Executive Vice President Don Leo said in the letter, “We are disappointed that we need to put this longstanding event on hold, and we will continue to be committed to providing a space for accomplished women leaders to connect with and inspire our students, staff and alumni.”
“Seeing this in this way is disheartening because I know the students really won’t be able to celebrate it at that magnitude,” Calloway said.
Universities across Ohio have been concerned about not only federal efforts to target DEI programs but also state efforts, namely a bill passed by the Ohio Senate that would target DEI programs at public Ohio universities. That bill is now in the Ohio House.
“I think we’ll see fairly swift action in the House on the bill,” Ohio Speaker of the House Matt Huffman said. “It is true that much of this has been litigated over the past two, or even four years, and I think there has been a change of mindset among many.”
A former Republican state lawmaker said he doesn’t necessarily believe the Celebrate Women’s conference needed to be canceled, but believes the overall issue is another way to blame President Donald Trump.
“That’s not the way I see it,” Calloway said. “I see, I think and I’ll just be very honest, it’s been the Trump administration that has made it very clear where they stand with these events.”
