On February 1, 2017, protestors met on the steps of the Athen's Courthouse for the “Resist Trump: No Wall No Ban” rally. After speeches on the courthouse steps, protestors marched down Court Street to occupy the Baker Center, which was posted well in advance on social media platforms to warn the university. The rally and the stand-in were done to make Ohio University a Sanctuary Campus and adding immigration status to OU’s harassment protection. It was even said in advance that the students would not leave the center until their demands were met. Let it also be known that Baker University Center is a public building open to the public, and the protest happened during its hours of operation.

While at the Baker Center, protestors stayed on the fourth floor but made room for passerbys to walk through. There were more speeches, followed by chants as over a hundred people occupied the fourth floor. Police soon showed up, and at 7:22 p.m, police told the protestors to leave the building. The police offered an alternative room on the second floor, which was a meeting room far away from the flow of traffic that would mute the protest altogether.

It was around this time that the protestors formed a sitting circle in the middle of the center, allowing over six feet of space on either side so there would be no case of a fire hazard. They locked arms, and even sang songs. Anyone who remained at 8:00 p.m. was arrested, which was over 70 people, and they were charged with criminal trespassing. Despite their non-aggressive tactics, the police dragged people out of the group to arrest them.

Though there were Trump supporters counter-protesting on the side, no one was violent. In fact, someone who worked for The Post was arrested without being a part of the protest, showing the true intentions behind arresting protestors, which was to silence the movement.

OU’s poor response to this peaceful protest made the news, and furthermore, it has been recorded that the people who created this event have been asked not to assemble any more events. Had Ohio University let the protest happen, its reputation would be close to untouched, but its interference left matters much worse.