Deciding on which college to attend can be one of the most important decisions to make.
Whether you’re a freshman, transfer student or a graduate, you probably spent a significant portion of your time considering program and community opportunities offered across different universities.
However, for many first-year students, the 2025-2026 school year has not been what they were promised when they first applied.
“I was highly interested in the LGBTQ+ LLC in Korb Hall and wanted to apply for either this year or in a coming year,” says Andy Polivka, a sophomore chemistry major. “However, the then-being-deliberated Senate Bill 1 made me uncertain of the LLC’s existence. I was discouraged from applying before the bill even passed.”
With the passing of SB1, not only has the LGBTQ+ LLC at Korb shut down, but so have several of the campus’s identity centers. This, Polivka says, significantly delayed their ability to find community at Kent State.
“Instead of a centralized system in a fixed place existing, all information was dispersed,” they say. “I had to do a scavenger hunt to find any information, going from the Student Center to the Center for Student Involvement to Ruach to finally find PRIDE! Kent and Trans*Fusion.”
Polivka is not the only first-year student who has struggled to find community on a post-SB1 campus. Martin Hydell, a freshman environmental studies major, expresses that making like-minded friends has been extremely difficult.
“Not being able to go to a club that’s literally just like-minded people who want to make you feel comfortable is so stupid of a thing to restrict,” Hydell says. “I just thought that every university would have a queer group of students that’s sole purpose would be to make sure people belong.”
Additionally, several first-year students express that education has been negatively impacted by the outcomes of SB1.
“I fear that I won’t be provided a well-rounded education,” says Nicholas Sharp, a freshman ASL/English interpreting major, “due to the professors’ inability to teach ‘controversial topics.’”
According to Polivka, the environment that has resulted from SB1 has been the thing that has impacted their education the most.
“It has interfered with the environment of my education and psyche,” Polivka says. “The bill made me less confident in my identity and presentation in public. I have a constant fear of being discriminated against, judged, attacked, hate-crimed, when interacting with new people outside of the dedicated LGBTQ+ spaces.”
However, the impact SB1 will have on academics doesn’t end here. According to KSU’s “Senate Bill 1 Compliance” page, a new American civics course has been developed and will be a required course for students in the fall 2026 entering class and beyond.
Additionally, according to an article by Signal Cleveland, at least 24 undergraduate majors may be cut if they are unable to meet enrollment requirements of averaging more than five graduates per year over a three-year period, as outlined in SB1.
These majors include a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Earth Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Life Science, Bachelor of Arts in Physics, Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies, Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science, Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care and many more.
Additionally, Polivka points out that it wasn’t just LGBTQ+ students who have lost their resources — and potentially their communities —at KSU.
“SB1 also shut down the Women’s Center and the Multicultural Center,” Polivka says. “These are also significant losses to other communities that I am not a part of, and their impacts should be noted, too.”
Burr Magazine reached out to KSU regarding student concerns with SB1. Emily Vincent, director of university media relations for University Communications and Marketing, provided the following statement.
“As a state university, Kent State must comply with the law. Other state universities have made changes, like Kent State, to comply with SB1 … We understand these centers and the Living-Learning Community have been powerful sources of connection, support and growth, and we acknowledge the emotional and personal impact this change may have on many members of our community. It is a loss. However, we are the same community. These closings do not change who we are. We have the same people here who care for our students. Our values are the same.”
When first-year students were asked if they felt as though KSU has done its part to provide support to students or attempt to push back against SB1, many were quick to answer with a resounding “no.”
“It further alienates students that are being targeted,” Sharp says. “I haven’t been provided any resources. I’m scared that gender-inclusive housing will go away.”
“I don’t think Kent as a university has done much to push back against it,” Hydell says. “If I were the university, I don’t know how much I’d be able to push back, but still — not much has been done.”
Rebekah Hiles is a web writer and photographer. Contact her at [email protected].
