Letter to the editor:

I am a third-generation Buckeye. I was raised on crisp, Midwest fall air while cheering in the best damn stadium in the land. The Ohio State University Marching Band has been my ringtone since I got my first cellphone. Until the age of 15, I refused to even step foot in “That State Up North” because of my loyalty to my home state.

Scarlet and gray run through my veins, but today is the first day of my life that I am not proud to be a Buckeye.

In a completely unfair and devastating decision, the Undergraduate Student Government Judicial Panel has removed the issue of divestment from the ballot of this general election. Regardless of one’s personal opinion of divestment, the student body should be outraged that the USG has taken it upon itself to silence the voices of the undergraduate population. The USG Judicial Panel has chosen to ignore the voices of more than 3,000 students who attached their names to petitions that brought the issue to the ballot. The Judicial Panel snubbed the democratic process that the USG has set out to follow.

Open and spirited debate only benefits the Ohio State community. The value of having a student government is that it offers a platform for students to voice their opinions and ideas that can help make this campus even better. Removing an issue that has sparked a healthy and educational debate across campus because of a technicality goes against the fundamental principles that this nation was founded upon. The actions of USG Judicial Panel remove the integrity from the voting process and instills a lack of faith in the ability to advocate meaningful change as a student.

USG’s action is extremely disappointing. Whether you support or oppose the OSU divestment movement is not the issue at hand. Removing the divestment question from the ballot is a restriction on the freedom of speech that we, not only here at Ohio State, but as a nation, hold so dear. I urge USG to review its judicial findings and allow the student body to make the determination on its own.

I was raised a Buckeye alongside my older sister, an alumna, and my younger brother, who was just recently accepted to this incredible university. I have always been the first to come and sing Ohio’s praise, but as an older brother who values student speech, I am hesitant to advise my high school brother to join the family as an official Buckeye when I have seen firsthand that his voice will not be heard.

Brooks W. Boron

Student at Moritz College of Law

[email protected]