Our New President Santa Ono Follow Up

Our New President Santa Ono Follow Up

On April 6, I wrote an article titled “Our New President Santa Ono.” If you didn’t know by now, Santa Ono is our fairly new president at the University of Cincinnati (UC). I was happy to see readers engage in commenting on this story. Throughout the six months or so that Ono has been president, I have heard positive feedback from students around campus. Listening to feedback from readers only confirms what I believed. Ono is well liked and personally connects with many students at UC.

One of my readers backs up my belief that Ono connects with students across campus. Gabrielle W. writes, “I know I’m not the only one who loves our UC president. When he first came to the university he sat down with the tour guides and talked with us and what we wanted from the university. He makes a sincere effort to learn something about each student he talks too. We went around the room and he had each person introduce themselves. At the very end he shook all our hands goodbye and if he didn’t remember your name, he remembered your major or at least your favorite memory of UC.” This is one example of how Ono connects with various students, taking time to understand the interest of each individual.

Another reader confirmed what Ono does best, that he will do everything he can for students. She also touches on Ono’s educational background, which includes a PhD at McGill University and a BA from the University of Chicago. Ali S. writes, “President Ono is absolutely awesome. He truly does his best to do everything he can for the students who make up this university on top of doing daily presidential things. He is also a very accomplished scholar. His impact on UC has definitely affected the Cincinnati community as a whole.” Ono has made impact indeed. Popularity amongst students can already be seen and his time as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost has benefited UC as well. Ono serves as the Professor of Pediatrics within UC’s College of Medicine, which can also be seen as an impact to campus.

I am excited to see the changes that Ono has already made across campus. I believe with the support from students, Ono will make tremendous changes to campus life at UC.

Our New President Santa Ono

Our New President Santa Ono

Santa Ono, former provost at the University of Cincinnati is now the 28^th president of the university. UC celebrated in October, 2012 with students, professors and board members parading around the campus. Everyone praised Ono’s hard work and his intellect.

In a statement, Trustee Rob Richardson said, “I have never seen anyone, in my experience here, who shows the dedication and passion that Dr. Ono feels for students.”

Ono plans on staying at UC for at least 10 years, and recently received a raise to $465,300. Ono is very popular amongst the students, and is active on social networking sites like Twitter.  As university president, communication with the student body is key.

Ono’s main responsibilities will be finding new funding and attracting new students. In an interview with Ono, he said his favorite thing about being president is, “interacting with about 330,000 individuals that makeup the community here in Clifton.” Ono described the bearcat nation as having, “a lot of energy, excitement and pride.”

Warning to Colleges Who Violate Free Speech

Warning to Colleges Who Violate Free Speech

This is a warning to colleges who violate free speech policies – including the infamous University of Cincinnati (UC). Currently UC has the highest speech code rating which is red. On Dec. 22, 2012 roughly 300 certified letters were sent to various public universities across the United States warning that continued free speech oppression would not be tolerated. “Administrators may be held personally liable for continuing to maintain unconstitutional speech codes in violation of students First Amendment Rights,” said FIRE (The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.)

As the letters were being sent out, hundreds of college presidents and attorneys who work with the institutions have been notified that they could be “hit with a suit,” if they violate the free speech rights of students. The FIRE letters also suggest that administrators, “should be ready to pay out of their own pockets if they continue to violate their students’ free speech rights.”

FIRE believes that school officials have intentionally censored free speech on campus knowing that they would not be held liable. “This has given administrators the opportunity to censor whatever opinions they dislike and make all of us pay for it, said senior vice president of FIRE, Robert Shibley. Shibley acknowledged that thanks to FIRE, violations of student’s free speech are “quickly vanishing.”

“You must be aware that maintaining university policies that prohibit constitutionally protected expression is an unlawful deprivation of constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 for which university administrators may be sued in their individual capacities for punitive damages,” the letter warns. Officials can no longer count on “personal immunity” to protect them. Due to new federal ruling, administrators who violate students rights can now face financial peril.

The FIRE letter reported, “67 percent of the 286 public universities examined nationwide maintain at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech, in contravention of legal precedent.” Change is needed on a large scale, but with FIRE’s help speech code violations will vanish.