More than a dozen students interrupted the beginning of the state Board of Regents meeting Wednesday to protest the proposed appointment of Sam Olens as Kennesaw State University president.

“We demand a nationwide search for a qualified president,” one student stood up and shouted.

Others made similar statements about the selection process for KSU and about Georgia State University’s plans for Turner Field.

“We must love each other and protect each other,” the students repeatedly shouted before exiting the meeting.

The board went into a five-minute recess as the students spoke.

The board is scheduled Wednesday to vote on a proposal to name Olens, Georgia's attorney general, the new president of KSU. Many students and faculty oppose the plans. Their complaints include that there's not been a national search for KSU president and positions he's taken on issues some students feel are offensive to LGBT students.

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Protestors demonstrate against the war in Gaza and the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil at Emory University in Atlanta on March 20, 2025. The 30-year-old legal U.S. resident was detained by federal immigration agents in March. An Atlanta-based law firm has filed a lawsuit against the federal government arguing it illegally terminated the immigration records of five international students and two alumni from Georgia colleges, including one from Emory University. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

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Protestors demonstrate against the war in Gaza and the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil at Emory University in Atlanta on March 20, 2025. The 30-year-old legal U.S. resident was detained by federal immigration agents in March. An Atlanta-based law firm has filed a lawsuit against the federal government arguing it illegally terminated the immigration records of five international students and two alumni from Georgia colleges, including one from Emory University. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com