Ohio State News Alert: Return to campus details

Ohio State News Alert: Return to campus details

Important initiatives and resources for the academic year

With Buckeye students, faculty and staff back on our campuses - some for the first time - Ohio State is providing a summary of important new and existing initiatives and resources for the 2024-25 academic year.

Updates in this message include:

• On- and off-campus safety and well-being
• Listen. Learn. Discuss., the university's new civil discourse initiative
• Free speech, academic freedom and freedom of expression
• Political activity guidelines

For more information on faculty and instructor resources and support, visit the Office of Academic Affairs website for a comprehensive collection of resources.

Safety and well-being resources

The safety of the Ohio State community is the university's highest priority. Ohio State is taking multiple measures to keep students, faculty and staff safe both on and off campus.

Ohio State has increased the presence of police on the Columbus campus by hiring and training additional Ohio State University Police Division (OSUPD) officers - and worked with the Columbus Division of Police (CPD) to increase patrols off campus. This fall, that also includes the expanded joint patrol program between OSUPD and CPD.

The popular Lyft Ride Smart at Ohio State continues to offer students discounted late-night rides in a designated area from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and the Office of Student Life is offering any Buckeye student complimentary personal safety alarms that, when triggered, create a loud noise that can be heard a couple hundred feet away. These can be picked up at the Willie J. Young Sr. Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement office at the Ohio Union from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The office also offers complimentary safety devices for student homes, including window and door alarms and smart plugs.

Last fall, the university enacted more enhanced safety and security resources, adding to the $35 million annual total campus public safety budget. This includes:

• Authorizing OSUPD to hire additional police officers.
• Expanding the joint patrol program in the University District between OSUPD and CPD, including dedicating in fall 2024 more officers and new cruiser vehicles that feature badges from both divisions. Four pairs of officers patrol off campus this year, the most since the partnership started in 2008.
• Purchasing additional mobile surveillance cameras.
• Continued support for the license plate reader program and video storage.
• Renewing Buckeye Block Watch, offering foot patrols in targeted University District areas. The program features security teams who are taught how to deal with difficult situations and learn best practices for public engagement, including mental health responses, first aid and CPR.

More safety resources are available on the university's public safety website.

Safety isn't just physical well-being - it's your mental health, too. Last year, more than a third of students told Ohio State that they had received mental health care in the past year.

The university is excited to add even more mental health and well-being resources this year as part of nearly $2.5 million in new funding from the state of Ohio.

Ohio State offers an array of holistic services and resources for students, meeting Buckeyes where they are and when it's convenient for them. They include:

Teletherapy

A keystone of the new state funding is free and expanded teletherapy to all students.The partnership with Uwill offers students the chance to virtually see licensed therapists and receive wellness programming, even after-hours and weekends.

Mental health grants

While most services on campus are free, students may incur costs for hospital visits or when working with a specialist off campus. Now, funding is available to pay for these services.

Let's Talk

Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS) in Student Life provides confidential, informal conversations, often as same-day appointments, with clinicians for students who need to talk through a problem but don't need ongoing counseling or have questions about where to get started.

Individual therapy

Students can receive one-on-one therapy with an Ohio State counselor through CCS.

Monda Student Resource Center

Opening in winter 2025, the Monda Student Resource Center will enhance students' holistic, essential needs through resources and support from campus and community partners.

Listen. Learn. Discuss.

Ohio State expects members of our community to contribute to an environment where trust and respectful dialogue are the norm - not the exception. To advance this, the university has launched a new civil discourse initiative to help members of our community listen to and discuss different perspectives productively, build trust with one another, learn to successfully navigate complex conversations and clearly articulate their point of view.

Listen. Learn. Discuss. will help students, faculty and staff form skills to engage in productive and respectful dialogue.

• The initiative's new website, listen-learn-discuss.osu.edu, is a centralized online resource for courses, workshops and events that give the university community opportunities to navigate difficult conversations, whenever and wherever challenging conversations take place - in the classroom, on the Oval or in the workplace. The website includes an event calendar, through which university community members can submit opportunities related to the topic or the practice of civil discourse, and a sample of fall 2024 courses that provide skill building in civil discourse topics.

Free speech, academic freedom and freedom of expression

Ohio State remains committed to protecting the First Amendment right to free speech, academic freedom and freedom of expression on its campuses. The First Amendment and Ohio law expressly protect the rights of students, faculty, staff and visitors at the university to lawfully engage in speech and expressive activities.

The Campus Free Speech Policy, adopted in May 2023, supports this dedication, and the updated Freedom of Expression websiteserves as an online hub for support resources.

Ohio State believes in academic freedom: The exchange of ideas by students and instructors creates a campus environment where all viewpoints are welcome and respected. In accordance with university rules, faculty have the freedom to discuss in classrooms, in their own manner, material that is relevant to the subject matter as defined in the course syllabus. At the same time, they have responsibility to encourage free discussion and inquiry, and students must be given a broad latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, learn and discuss in classrooms and learning spaces.

Freedom of expression is also central to our values as an institution of higher education. Ohio State supports the rights of its community to exercise their freedom of speech and expression in a way that is lawful, respectful and productive. The university encourages everyone to participate in public discourse and exercise their democratic rights through voting, advocacy and civic engagement.

The university has updated its University Space Standards, with input from students, faculty and staff, to improve clarity and add detail on the appropriate use of our spaces.

To maintain neutrality that assures academic freedom and freedom of speech and expression, Ohio State refrains from taking institutional positions on matters that extend beyond the university. When statements are issued, the university uses a framework to evaluate making institutional and leadership statements to ensure decisions are made based on consistent factors.

Election-related resources

Everyone is encouraged to support Ohio State's motto of "Education for Citizenship" by helping to spread the message of nonpartisan civic engagement.

• OSU Votes is a nonpartisan, student-led initiative in the Office of Student Life that works to register, educate and encourage other students to vote. If there are requests for voter registration or education materials, OSU Votes can provide resources and facts on the voting process and voter registration.
• The university has guidelines regarding political activity, which can help faculty, staff and instructors understand how to exercise their constitutional rights without creating the appearance of endorsement for a particular candidate or cause.
• During this fall's election day, Nov. 5, there will be a university-wide day of asynchronous learning as a one-time pilot trial to support student participation in the general election. Instructors whose classes would otherwise have met in person or virtually should instead assign asynchronous classwork such as reading, writing or other homework.

More Ohio State News