To the editor:

I respectfully ask that you share this message with your readers. As a tenured professor at Youngstown State University, I emphasize that this letter represents my views alone, and it should not be considered a statement on behalf of my institution.

If enacted, Ohio Senate Bill 1 or SB 1 will have broadly detrimental effects. There is a remedy: a petition for a referendum on SB 1 (see ohsb1petition.com). If we can get 250,000 signatures, SB 1 will be on the ballot this November.

SB 1 requires degrees graduating fewer than five students per year be eliminated, disproportionately impacting small to midsize institutions. While wealthier students may be merely inconvenienced, less privileged students may find their dreams derailed.

In addition, SB 1 could impede including all students in the classroom. I have been a professor for nearly 20 years. Far from seeking to indoctrinate students, I encourage them to decide for themselves which principles to embrace. On the other hand, I believe in the importance of accessibility, with the same opportunity to learn extended to each student.

Finally, very concerning in SB 1 is the removal of a unionized faculty’s ability to strike, which provides teachers with a vitally important voice. An empowered union enfranchises teachers, enabling them to work collaboratively toward our shared educational mission.

Do you believe one’s college major should not be dictated by one’s zip code? Do you seek to include all students in classroom discussions? Do you see the importance of teachers being empowered to work collaboratively to help students learn? If your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” please join us in the petition for a statewide referendum on Ohio Senate Bill 1.

Donald J. Priour, Jr.,

Youngstown