A resident advisor room sits at the end of a hallway in Park-Stradley. Credit: Carly Damon | Lantern File Photo
When students walk onto their dorm floor for the first time, the walls could be covered in pop culture references like Spongebob or favorite dogs that the resident advisor believes incoming students would enjoy. Now, that is all changing.
Ohio State has advised all RA’s to keep their welcome programming, as well as their dorm floor decor, Ohio State-themed. This means that students this year will have floor decorations that showcase Ohio State through the university’s scarlet and gray colors, Block O and Brutus.
This change is partially due to SB1 compliance, according to University Spokesperson Dave Isaacs.
SB1 bans diversity, equity and inclusion programming, as well as faculty striking, per prior Lantern reporting. The bill also limits the teaching of controversial subjects and for course syllabi to be published online.
“SB1 was certainly a factor, but our goal is to create an open and welcoming environment for all students,” Isaacs said.
RA’s were told this news during their orientation in their position, Isaacs confirmed.
The concept of Ohio State spirit themes was also expanded to move-in activities hosted in the dorms, Isaacs said.
“This concept is also being carried out through a number of activities planned for our residence halls as Move-In continues, including buckeye necklace-making and mug decorating,” Isaacs said.
On Reddit, anonymous student accounts have posted complaining about this change, from some users saying that it is an overreaction on housing’s part.
On the original Reddit post, it has over 400 upvotes and 43 comments.
One user was a former RA and said in a comment, “I remember staying up until 5 AM before students moved in putting up everything to make my hall feel a little bit more inviting. It felt like Christmas morning to me.”
That user went on to say that “SB1 and university leadership has sucked the life out of literally everything.” That comment has almost 150 upvotes.
Students have posted that they are upset with the university’s reaction.
“There is nothing that required OSU to ban chalk on campus or have dorm themes,” one user commented. “Although they may not be entirely responsible, institutions such as OSU hold a tremendous amount of power and resources and it’s shameful to see how they have rolled over for this administration and it’s fair for people to be critical of that.”
There were no comments supporting Ohio State’s decision. However, one user called on students to protest the state and national government over these decisions, rather than Ohio State’s administration.
The university has also banned window signage in dorms in the past, according to prior reporting by The Lantern. In 2017, the university put a flat ban on window art moving forward, with Isaacs saying that the decision “reflects the approach other universities take to similar situations.”
This ban included more than just post-it notes on the window, but also prohibited students from hanging any signage, lighting or other materials in dorm or university windows, according to prior Lantern reporting.
Students were also upset with this ban, with one student saying, “Why limit it? If it is not inappropriate and is just funny I don’t see a problem with it.”
The Lantern had 3,500 views on a Reddit post asking for a comment on the dorm floor decorations, but no student would go on the record to discuss their opinions on this change. The Lantern is still reaching out to students for comments.
