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.
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“Given the allegations against Mr. Ailes and the circumstances surrounding his departure from Fox News, I have decided that the most appropriate action is to return Mr. Ailes’ gift and remove his name from the WOUB newsroom”, McDavis said in a news release. By the end of July, Ailes was out at Fox News, and this week Carlson accepted a $20 million settlement from 21st Century Fox.
Ailes graduated from Ohio University in 1962.
As previously mentioned, Carlson sued Ailes for sexual harassment, alleging he fired her because she didn’t want a sexual relationship with him.
The school honored Ailes with a plaque and nameplate outside the television newsroom following several payments made between 2007 and 2011.
University President Roderick McDavis made the announcement during Monday’s meeting of the university faculty in Athens.
McDavis said an undergraduate scholarship with the School of Media Arts & Studies still bares Ailes’ name and the administration is considering renaming that as well.
McDavis says he consulted with the dean of the university and senior leadership before making his decision.
“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.
Some people may criticize me for taking a long time to make a decision, but out of fairness to all, I wanted to be deliberative.
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Meanwhile at Fox News, the right-wing media hub plans to erase Ailes’ name from programs he engineered, such as the Ailes Apprenticeship Program, according to Confidential.
