By:Megan Henry
Colleges have an obligation to create a culture that fosters free speech, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said during recent comments at the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Trustees Conference.
DeWine covered many topics during his nearly 50 minute speech including briefly talking about free speech on campuses, cell phones in college classrooms, and how colleges of education are training future teachers when it comes to teaching students how to read.
He did not mention Ohio’s new higher education law, Senate Bill 1, that bans diversity efforts, prohibits faculty strikes, and regulates classroom discussion, among other things.
“The horrible, horrible, horrible tragedy, Charlie Kirk on a college campus, engaging in free speech, being gunned down,” DeWine said. “I’m talking about the obligation, I think, that colleges have to create a culture … colleges should be a place of ideas.”
Kirk, a right-wing political activist, was shot and killed last week while he was speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
“I’m not really talking about (Kirk’s death), how that could have been prevented or couldn’t have been prevented,” DeWine said. “That’s a security issue.”
Universities, he said, need to create an environment on campus that respects ideas.
“You might disagree with one of your fellow students, but that’s kind of what college is all about,” DeWine said. “It’s exploring and getting different ideas. … Free speech is important. It’s important everywhere, but it’s also super important, I think, in the village of college campuses.”
Cell phones
Ohio recently banned cell phones in K-12 schools and DeWine wants college students to put their phones away, too.
“I suggest you ban them in your classrooms,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
When speaking to reporters afterwards, DeWine said he does not think there should necessarily be a law around cell phones in colleges.
“I don’t think we’re looking to tell colleges to (ban cell phones),” DeWine said. “That was a strong suggestion. … What we know about these devices is that they pull people away from thinking about what’s going on in that classroom.”
Reading
This is the second school year Ohio school districts are required to teach the science of reading, which incorporates phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. DeWine has helped champion the science of reading in Ohio by originally putting it in the state’s 2023 budget, which was eventually signed into law.
“Think phonics on steroids,” DeWine said. “Reading, to state the obvious, is essential to success in K-12, it’s essential to your success in college. It’s more importantly, though, essential to your success in life.”
The Ohio Department of Higher Education conducted an audit to show how each educator training program aligns with teaching the science of reading instruction. Under state law, Chancellor Mike Duffey can revoke a college or university’s approval if they fail the audit.
The audits are completed, and colleges and universities with educator training program will be hearing their results in the coming months, DeWine said.
“I’ve seen the results,” he said. “Some of them are great, but some of them are not. We still have colleges in the state of Ohio that do not follow the science of reading. That’s a problem.”
