By Jordan Gentile
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - Students and political activists say a new law enacted last week that stiffens penalties for "failure to disperse" during a riot violates free speech.

The measure, which garnered overwhelming support from lawmakers and police, is being strongly criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union and student activists who will now lose their financial aid if convicted of failing to leave the scene of a riot.

"There's a recognition by the court that a law must not have a chilling effect on freedom of expression," said Raymond Vasvari, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio. "It's too early to say whether we're going to take this to court, but it is a very troubling law."

While police have long held the right to fine people who don't disperse, Vasvari and others criticize the law for making protesters subject to arrest if a disturbance breaks out.

Adding to the furor is language that, for the first time, punishes college students by taking away their financial aid for two years. Those convicted will also be expelled for one year and barred from admittance at other state universities.

"There's real concern that, because of the loss of financial aid, students from lower-income groups will be disproportionately affected," said Kris Long, legal counsel to the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Still, many police officers view the obligation to disperse as essential. The Columbus Division of Police, still reeling from riots that rocked the Ohio State campus last year, fully backed the provision and sent Lieutenant Jeffrey Puls to testify before the Senate criminal justice committee. "This legislation is for when there is an escalation of events," Puls said. "You can't write tickets in the middle of a riot. People who are peacefully assembled wouldn't be in that situation in the first place."

Many student activists disagree. Hans Schellas, a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati, has participated in political demonstrations where he and others engaged in nonviolent protest were rounded up by police without being given a reason.

"When you have a different agenda than the status quo, it's shocking how easily your rights are violated," Schellas said. "I'm really disheartened (by the new law), but it's not unexpected. I think we're going through a time when our rights are increasingly being taken away from us."

State Sen. Jeff Jacobson, R-Dayton, who introduced the legislation, dismisses critics of the law. He and other supporters of the law note that the "failure to disperse" language was on the books well before the recent budget was signed, and the only thing that has changed is the severity of the punishment. The law provides no serious challenge to the First Amendment, Jacobson said, because the arrest and prosecution of people who fail to disperse will be "lightly applied ... only in rare cases where public safety is seriously at risk."