Steve Snyder-Hill and Gary Avis, both survivors of former university physician Richard Strauss, address the Ohio State Board of Trustees at its full meeting Nov. 18, 2021. Credit: Mary Kidwell | Campus Editor
When Gary Avis joined other survivors of former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss outside the Longaberger Alumni House Thursday, he wasn’t planning to speak to the full Board of Trustees.
But a last-minute change to the meeting agenda had Avis and two others sitting before the Board, with nearly a dozen men behind him wearing masks embroidered with the word “survivor.” Up until about a month ago, Avis was known in his lawsuit against the university only as a John Doe.
“I want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anybody ever again, and I want to make sure there is real change,” Avis told the Board.
Avis is one of hundreds of men who were sexually abused by Strauss, a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center and varsity team sports doctor from 1978-98. He is also one of hundreds of men who have sued the university for its failure to address and prevent Strauss’ abuse.
About a dozen Strauss survivors gathered outside the meeting Thursday to protest what they said is the university’s failure to “do the right thing.” For Avis, a former Ohio State gymnast from 1981-85, that would mean working with victims and survivors of Strauss to develop safeguards to prevent similar sexual abuse from happening again. It also means recognizing the harm he said has accumulated over the past four years.
“There’s physical, emotional and psychological damage,” Avis told The Lantern. “I hear all the right things, except I don’t believe any of it. Actions speak louder than words.”
Before the survivors spoke, University President Kristina M. Johnson addressed them.
“On behalf of the entire Ohio State University, I’m deeply sorry.” Johnson said. “What Richard Strauss did was unconscionable.”
A survivor of former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss stands in front of the Longaberger Alumni House with a sign that reads “Ohio & State protects sexual predators” before the university Board of Trustees full board meeting Nov. 18, 2021.
Survivor Steve Snyder-Hill criticized both the Board’s words and actions — including the last-minute change to allow Strauss survivors to speak.
According to emails obtained by The Lantern, Snyder-Hill made two requests in September for victims and survivors to address the Board. The Board did not respond to either request.
In a statement, university spokesperson Ben Johnson said the university believed Snyder-Hill’s request was “no longer active.” The university added time to the beginning of the meeting after Snyder-Hill informed the board Tuesday that he never withdrew his request.
When speaking before the Board, Snyder-Hill, who attended the university from 1991-2000, asked them to imagine their children were in his position.
“Would you guys let anybody treat your child the way you’re treating us? I don’t want to be angry at you. You’re better than this,” Snyder-Hill told the Board. “The OSU that I believe in is better than this. I want you to listen to us. I want you to know that the OSU of 20, 30, 40 years ago is the same OSU today. And I’m really concerned that if you have another Richard Strauss, that based on the actions that I’ve seen from 2018 on, nothing is going to change.”
Snyder-Hill told The Lantern he wants the board to keep the promise it made in 2019 when chairman Gary Heminger said it was “committed to a monetary resolution.”
If the university intended to keep that promise, Snyder-Hill said it wouldn’t have filed motions to dismiss all active Strauss-related lawsuits against the university — motions a federal judge granted in September.
“They got it thrown out in court, and now it’s just gone. And 300 people just don’t go away. Three-hundred people with trauma just don’t go away,” Snyder-Hill told The Lantern.
Since 2020, the university has settled with more than 230 victims and survivors of Strauss for a total of $57.8 million.
“Everyone who spoke today chose not to participate in the individual settlement program,” Johnson said, referring to the Strauss Individual Settlement Program plaintiffs had the opportunity to join in exchange for an amount of up to an average of $252,511.
But Avis said that program, which didn’t guarantee minimum amounts and would have required victims and survivors to refrain from criticizing the university’s actions since 2018, was something to which he could never agree.
“We’ve been raped and sexually assaulted,” Avis said. “I am not going to be silenced. No more.”
