An Ohio State seal on a sidewalk at The Oval, as pictured in 2022. Credit: Caleb Blake | Lantern File Photo
The Undergraduate Student Government passed three resolutions this week calling for the inclusion of voter and civic responsibility in the General Education curriculum, opposing Ohio House Bill 698 and increasing waste management in high-traffic, non-residential areas.
The curriculum resolution was introduced by Sen. Angela Momah, a second-year in biology.
“Students are voting, but many are voting without fully understanding the systems they are voting for,” Momah said. “This resolution proposes incorporating non-partisan, civic and voter education to the already mandatory GE launch course.”
This resolution would allow first-year students to learn about civic education and how civic institutions function, Momah said.?
There was no explanation on how this would be incorporated into the GE launch seminar.
Momah also recognized programs like Buckeyes for Voting Rights, a student organization that helps students register to vote, but explained that its outreach is primarily focused during election seasons.
“We do have other programs in place such as Buckeyes for Voting Rights, and they do incredible work, but they only take place around voting seasons, every two to four years when civic education should not be seasonal,” Momah said.
Sen. Christopher Cade, a second-year in political science and public policy, introduced the resolution to formally condemn a bill in the House that would tie state funding to compliance with Senate Bill 1.
The proposal, which is also known as “The Senate Bill 1 Compliance Supplemental Appropriation Act,” would require public universities in Ohio to certify that it is complying with SB 1 requirements, and would tie a portion of the funding a university receives based on compliance.
Senate Bill 1 prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion programming, per prior Lantern reporting.
“If we don’t comply, they’re going to take away state funding,” Cade said. “Which not only threatens student programs, it could potentially threaten scholarships. We don’t know because they’re not giving us the information that we’re asking for.”
According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, Ohio State received $4.4 million from the Ohio Department of Higher Education in the 2025 fiscal year. It is not clear how much Ohio State would lose if found not in compliance with SB 1.
The final resolution — increasing waste management in high-traffic, non-residential areas — was introduced by Sen. Sadie Landry, a second-year in fashion and retail studies. It calls upon the university to decrease the amount of trash on campus and within outdoor areas that are highly trafficked.
“An ongoing issue is litter around campus, due to the fact that outside there’s not as many trash and recycling bins as there should be,” Landry said.
Landry said the Oval, South Oval and Mirror Lake are high-traffic areas that would benefit from additional trash and recycling facilities.?
These resolutions, as well as past resolutions can be read on the USG website. For students interested in the General Assembly, the public is welcome to attend these sessions during the public forum at the beginning of each meeting.
