Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution Wednesday for the renaming of Bricker Hall, the building in which the university president’s office is located, due to its namesake, John Bricker’s, segregationist record as an elected official. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
Doris Weaver, a former Ohio State student, had her reservation in the Department of Home Economics’ residential laboratory revoked in 1932 after the department found out she was Black. But according to an Undergraduate Student Government resolution, the person who played a part in her denial was commemorated by having the building that houses the university president’s office named after him.
The Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution Wednesday night to rename Bricker Hall and change the policy for naming university buildings due to the namesake’s involvement in Weaver’s case.
The resolution has three parts, Kelsey Lowman, a third-year in public management, leadership and policy and political science, said. The parts call for the university to rename Bricker Hall, to implement a standardized naming and review process for buildings on campus and for Bricker Hall to be renamed in honor of Weaver.
The resolution passed with unanimous consent. USG legislation must also be approved by the University Senate and Board of Trustees to be enacted.
John Bricker was the Ohio attorney general from 1933-37, governor of Ohio from 1939-45 and Republican senator from 1947-59. He graduated from Ohio State in 1916 and served on the Board of Trustees for more than two decades. Bricker Hall, originally the Administration Building, was renamed after him in 1983.
Weaver took the university to court in an attempt to be admitted to the Home Management House, the Department of Home Economics’ lab to “teach women students how to run an efficient home,” according to the University Archives. In the original court’s decision, it was established that Weaver was not denied educational advantages and was granted the same privileges as other students.
The court also required the university to show why Weaver was not admitted to the house. It was Bricker who crafted the answer, claiming it was not under the universities’ authority to urge students of different races and nationalities to room together, according to the Ohio State library’s archives.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email Ohio State’s Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequalities is creating a “comprehensive process for evaluating building names” and will provide updates as that work continues.
“Ohio State is aligned with USG in our shared interest of supporting racial justice and equity. The university is committed to building an inclusive, anti-racist community,” Johnson said.
Nuurah Parsons, vice chair of justice and equity of USG, said she supports renaming the Bricker Hall after Weaver.
“It is important, imperative, that the university makes actions towards anti-racist efforts, and that the renaming of Bricker Hall would be just one step in making tangible progress for marginalized students and creating equity for all students that attend Ohio State,” Parsons, a fourth-year in social work, said.
Seta Nagbe, a third-year in psychology, said the honorary naming of buildings should be reflective of the anti-racist values the university claims to uphold.
“John Bricker was not merely a man of his time, but he was a segregationist who intentionally took actions in order to uphold extremely harmful ideologies that were rooted in white supremacy,” Nagbe said. “By not changing the name of Bricker Hall, it stands as a very unfortunate reminder to Ohio State’s Black students that you can perpetuate harm against our communities and continue to be glorified and honored by this institution.”
Lowman said this resolution has taken two years to complete due to the difficulties USG President Roaya Higazi and Vice President Caleb Hineman faced trying to look for information in university archives.
Lowman said this resolution has had the support of the diversity committee within shared governments since 2019.
According to the resolution, it has received support from the Undergraduate Black Law Student Association executive board, Morrill Scholarship Program’s Student Advisory Council and Buckeye First Student Organization executive board.
Parsons said despite the administration not being the ones to name Bricker, it is the responsibility of all to acknowledge the harm that has been done to those in the past.
“Being a Big Ten school, one the largest institutions in the United States, it is really important that Ohio State takes a stand on renaming the buildings and taking accountability for harms that have been done in the past,” Parsons said.
