Education

Ohio University Students Vote To Rename The ‘Roger E. Ailes Newsroom’

Reuters

Annabel Scott Contributor
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In response to the recent sexual harassment allegations against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, the Ohio University Graduate Student Senate is calling for the immediate renaming of a building named after the famous alumnus.

Ailes, 1962 Ohio University graduate and former WOUB station manager, was honored as the namesake of the WOUB newsroom after donating $500,000 towards a new state-of-the-art newsroom in 2007. Alies has also been funding student journalism scholarships since 1994.

In a letter to University President Roderick McDavis, the student senate said that they have voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that “denounces the alleged actions of Ailes and calls for the immediate renaming of WOUB’s Roger E. Ailes Newsroom.”

The letter also explains that during an opportunity for public comment, Sarah Grace, an Ohio University alumna and current Democratic candidate for the Ohio state House, voiced her support for the resolution.

“It is the official stance of the Graduate Student Senate, and the graduate student constituency which we represent, that the actions of Roger E. Ailes are not in alignment with Ohio University Policy and that his name should be removed immediately from the WOUB Newsroom”, the letter states.

University Spokesperson Carly Glick told The College Fix, that the college is “carefully evaluating facts surrounding allegations against Roger E. Ailes as they come to light.”

The College Fix also reports that Robert Stewart, Director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, explained that he “has no say-so in this matter” and that it was his understanding that President McDavis “would be speaking about the issue on Monday at a Faculty Senate meeting”.