Debate over Senate Bill 1 continues as petition drive ramps up

One of the leading voices behind the push to repeal Ohio’s Senate Bill 1 spoke in Portage County Sunday, laying out what he called the long-term risks to students, faculty, and the future of higher education.

Dr. Mark Vopat, president of the Youngstown State University chapter of the Ohio Education Association (YSU-OEA) and a professor of philosophy, addressed a group gathered at Independence of Portage County in Ravenna as part of a statewide informational tour. The event aimed to educate voters about the referendum process that could place the controversial law on the November ballot.

Senate Bill 1, signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine in March, bans diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at public universities, prohibits faculty strikes, increases state oversight of curricula, and weakens tenure protections. While supporters argue the law promotes academic neutrality and protects students from political bias, opponents say it threatens academic freedom, union rights, and student opportunity.

“SB 1 is a law that targets colleges and universities, their faculty, and actually, students,” Vopat told attendees. “It attacks diversity, equity, inclusion. It attacks workers’ rights. And it’s a form of censorship in the classroom.”

Vopat, along with colleagues at YSU, helped launch the referendum effort earlier this spring. What started as a local push has grown into a coordinated statewide campaign with over 2,000 volunteers, he said. Organizers are working to collect more than 250,000 valid signatures by the end of June in order to place the issue on the November 2025 ballot.

“We said, if no one else was going to do it, we would,” Vopat said. “And the response was overwhelming. We gathered over 6,000 signatures in just 10 days.”

He also warned of broader consequences, including the impact on Ohio’s ability to retain top faculty and attract students.

“That is going to make it more difficult, or at least it’s going to lower the quality of education in Ohio in higher ed,” Vopat said. “Students are going to go where they’re getting the best education, the best professors.”

Supporters of Senate Bill 1, including local lawmakers like Representative Tex Fischer and Senator Al Cutrona, have defended the law. Fischer previously told 21 News the bill ensures “diversity of thought” and limits foreign influence in Ohio’s public universities. Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson also distanced the university from the repeal effort, stating that faculty union actions “do not represent the official position of the university.”

Despite the political divide, Vopat said the referendum is about giving voters a voice.

“We’re not trying to rewrite every law,” he said. “We just want the people of Ohio to decide if this is the direction they want higher education to go.”