The Ohio Press Network Covers AIM Hidden-Camera Investigation of DEI at OSU
February 13, 2026
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Accuracy in Media, a nonprofit watchdog, released a hidden-camera video on February 12, 2026, showing Ohio State University (OSU) administrator Melissa Newhouse discussing ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at the university.
In the video, Newhouse states, “However, what it doesn’t do is it doesn’t affect our curriculum.” She adds that DEI and intersectionality remain in classes, explaining changes due to state law: “because of the law um we had to change signs and centers where they changed them to common so that whites are there to you know not just the underrepresented they brought the people with the privilege there.” She refers to whites as “the people with the privilege.”
Newhouse also notes private funding: “we have a lot of grants for equity and educational access and equity and education since they’re funded by Apple, they haven’t been cut, right? If they’re grants, then it’s corporate money.” She describes continued efforts as “there’s still stuff going on. It’s just more quiet.”
The video comes after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, into law on March 28, 2025. SB 1 prohibits DEI offices, programs, and mandatory training at public universities. It bans teaching that individuals are “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive” based on race or sex. The law requires intellectual diversity and bars institutional statements on controversial topics, including DEI. Public colleges must comply or risk losing state funding.
Federally, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race-based discrimination in programs receiving federal aid, which OSU does. Executive Order 14173, issued January 21, 2025, by President Trump, directs federal agencies to end DEI in government and requires contractors to certify no DEI violating anti-discrimination laws. It calls for investigations into universities with large endowments.
OSU has closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion but appears to be practicing its same directives, just under new names and titles. Newhouse later denied the video’s authenticity, claiming, “That’s not me,” and “That’s AI.”