Ohio State Professors Condemn Domestic Violence

Ohio State University professors in the University Senate released a statement Friday condemning domestic and sexual violence, a reference to the recent scandal involving the university's head football coach, Urban Meyer.

Meyer was suspended for three games for his mishandling of domestic violence accusations against a now-fired assistant coach, Zach Smith. Meyer was criticized after he failed to address issues of abuse at a press conference announcing his punishment and for not mentioning Zach Smith’s accuser by name -- his ex-wife, Courtney Smith.

Meyer later apologized directly to Courtney Smith in a statement.

Faculty on the senate said in their statement that “domestic abuse, sexual violence, harassment and discrimination are antithetical to what we as educators and as a university seek to achieve.”

The rest of the statement is as follows:

Because silence on these issues speaks volumes, we loudly state we will not tolerate domestic abuse, sexual violence, harassment and discrimination within our university community. As a community, we are responsible to and for each other.

To our students we say: Your safety, self-esteem and personal growth are of primary importance to us. We want you to know you can trust us, your instructors and mentors, to give you the utmost, unbiased, respectful attention and guide you as best we can.

To our colleagues on the faculty and staff we say: We hold each other to the highest academic, scientific and ethical standards.

To Buckeye Nation and our external stakeholders we say: We are a community that holds the wellbeing of our students and colleagues in the highest regard. We will not stand by and let any member of our community be mistreated or abused.

To ourselves we ask: Are we continually engaging each other to ensure we hold ourselves accountable to the values we profess? Do our fellow senate members, including representatives of faculty, students, administrators and staff, support the content and communication of all relevant policies and principles? Can we engage society in a continuous conversation about diversity, inclusion, rejecting violence and rejecting abuse of power? Can we nurture every student? Can we strengthen a community culture of safety, dignity and respect for all? We answer YES to all, as ethical behavior, community integrity and academic excellence are interwoven in the fabric of The Ohio State University.