Ohio State University course pushed students to confront white and straight privilege

A health sciences course offered at Ohio State University purportedly pushed students to confront their "white" and "heterosexual" privilege.

The grant-funded course is titled "Individual Differences in Patient/Client Populations" and offers an "examination of individual differences in patient/client populations from multiple perspectives of disability, chronic disease, healthcare disparity, culture, and the impact on health and wellness," according to the course description.

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It is offered via the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and one of the discussions put forth in the class required students who were white, heterosexual, or able-boded to address their privilege, according to a report.

The course, specifically the version offered online in autumn 2023, was reviewed by the group Do No Harm, which exposed the assignment called "Unpack the Invisible Knapsack," which was inspired by the 1989 work of feminist scholar Peggy Mclntosh, the report noted

Students were asked to select from either a "White Privilege Knapsack," "Heterosexual Privilege Knapsack," or "Able-Bodied Knapsack."

Mclntosh's excerpts are included in the assignment, including one that reads, "Whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress, and violence, which I was being subtly trained to visit, in turn, upon people of color."

Containing excerpts like the one above, students of the course were instructed to author a reflection that considers the framing of "your relative privilege before, what you can do with the amount of privilege you DO have, how things would be different if you had more privilege, etc."

Putting down an official OSU login was required for those students doing the "White Privilege Knapsack" activity, but the "Heterosexual Privilege Knapsack" required no such identification.

It did, however, split into "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" categories, the report noted, and allegedly stated that straight people "do not need to worry that people will harass or assault" them.

Along with the knapsack activities, students in the course were required to watch a film titled White People and learn to "navigate race" in their daily lives, according to the report.

"The curriculum within Ohio State University’s Health Sciences Program highlights a broader trend found in many universities nationwide — the adoption of divisive and political ideologies aimed at indoctrinating students," Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the chairman of Do No Harm, said.

"They theorize that interactions between groups must be viewed through the lens of critical race theory and the oppressor/oppressed dyad. This is pure identity politics and can only lead to divisiveness and intergroup hostility."

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Ben Johnson, a spokesman for the university, appeared to defend the course and its structure.

"Ohio State believes in academic freedom and freedom of expression, including the free exchange of ideas by students and instructors," Johnson said. "The university seeks to foster and maintain a campus environment where all viewpoints are welcome and respected."