A banner criticizing Leslie Wexner’s appearance in the Epstein Files was hung from the rooftop patio of Knowlton Hall on Wednesday. Credit: Garret Travers | Former Lantern Reporter
Cinder blocks and caution tape lined the Knowlton School of Architecture’s Oculus at Ohio State Wednesday as protesters unveiled a four-story-tall cloth banner featuring Les Wexner’s image.?
Student organizers at the school condemned Wexner’s presence in the Epstein files. At around 11:30 a.m., the banner dropped from the roof of the building, through the oculus — a hole through the building’s roof — to the concrete patio below. It read “oust Wexner” with a red X on his name, and “Wexner is in the files 1,322 times.”?
Wexner was deposed by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight Reform in his New Albany home Wednesday morning for his longstanding ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He said he had no knowledge of any of Epstein’s illegal doings, and said he was “na?ve, foolish and gullible to put any trust into Epstein,” per prior Lantern reporting.?
Kaleb Duarte, a third-year in architecture, helped design the banner and organize its drop.?
“This is a statement that’s been going around,” Duarte said. “Wexner is a vital part of this institution, but in kind of supporting his name in the classroom, his name all over, and not just doing that, but refusing to acknowledge that he is a part of a massive criminal scheme, whether he is convicted or not, is an issue.”?
Duarte said this form of protest serves as a request for the university to remove its affiliation with Wexner.
“And so what this is, it’s really a call to action to oust Wexner from every corner of this institution,” Duarte said. “I mean, the banner itself says that he was named 1,300 times in the Epstein Files.”
Ohio State denied a formal request filed Dec. 18 to remove Wexner’s name from the athletic center, per prior Lantern reporting.
A spokesperson for Wexner said he answered every question asked by the committee.
“Mr. Wexner reiterated that has he has no knowledge of, and did not participate in, Epstein’s illegal conduct. He stands by that fervently,” the spokesperson said.
Raelynn Bosley, a first-year in animal sciences, said she was coming from the bus stop and couldn’t help but watch what her fellow students had created.
“I like it, I feel like it needs to happen,” Bosley said. “It’s probably gonna have an impact on something.”
Bosley said she was a freshman in high school when the Wexner Medical Center was being built.?
“Finding out all this stuff and just being a freshman coming here, it’s like, this guy basically represents Ohio State, and he’s in these horrible things,” Bolsey said.
Bosley said that this banner is a more unique and effective form of protest that she has witnessed during her time at Ohio State.?
“I feel like it’s different, because it’s just something that’s left here,” Bosley said. “It’s seen all day, all night, anytime, even if you don’t go here. You can still see it from within the parking lot or coming down here, like you’re gonna see something, and you’re gonna want to know what that is.”?
Duarte said this form of protest is directly tied to the history of students studying architecture at Ohio State.
“Knowlton students have always been at the forefront of direct action,” Duarte said. “They are organizers across campus, not just at Knowlton, and Knowlton Hall is kind of a symbolic gesture of that.”
The new 26-story Wexner Medical Center is set to open on Sunday, according to Ohio State’s website.?
In light of the medical tower opening, the Ohio Nurses Association plans on protesting Sunday, calling to remove Wexner’s name off the medical center and all campus facilities, according to its Facebook post.
The protest at Knowlton is in solidarity to the nurses protesting, employees at the Wexner Center for the Arts and the survivors and victims of Epstein and Wexner, Duarte said.?
“Names are incredibly important,” Duarte said. “I mean, we’re called the Knowlton School. We’re named after someone, and that means something, right?”
The banner was removed from Knowlton by the building administrator around 1:30 p.m.
The article was updated on Feb. 19 at 10:41 a.m. to add a link to an article from previous Lantern reporting.
