A week that was supposed to have been a festive one for Sam Olens has turned out to be very different.
Olens, an East Cobb resident and former Cobb commission chairman and Georgia Attorney General, was formally installed this week as the president of Kennesaw State University.
It’s a post Olens has held since last year, but what’s called the “investiture” ceremony was scheduled for Thursday.
Some KSU students used the occasion to stage a protest in support of five cheerleaders who were removed from the football field before games because they were kneeling during the national anthem.
That decision came after Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren and Earl Erhart, a Republican state representative from Cobb County, objected to the demonstrations.
Olens, who developed a reputation as a strong consensus builder during his time leading Cobb County government, has said little about the controversy.
As reported by the Cobb County Courier and the KSU Sentinel, Olens said nothing during Thursday’s installation speech. He also has denied feeling the pressure from Warren and Erhart, although text messages made public reveal that the two elected officials credited themselves with the decision to keep the cheerleaders away from pre-game activities.
Olens’ tenure has been relatively quiet since the early weeks of his administration, which was met with some opposition. Those complaints included the lack of a full search process and his lack of a higher education administrative background.
Last month, Olens was the special guest of both the East Cobb Business Association and the Northeast Cobb Business Association.
That was right before the cheerleaders began to kneel, and now the Georgia Board of Regents will be conducting a review of the matter.
On Saturday, the Kennesaw State football team will be playing its first home game since the controversy began. The Owls play host to Gardner-Webb for homecoming at 7 p.m.
