ISU PRESIDENT, ANDOVER TARHULE,
DOES NOTHING AGAINST HATE.

What We Need From President Tarhule Is Transparency and Accountability.

The actions of ISU’s administration–President Tarhule and the Board of Trustees, epitomized in the disappointing and infuriating inaction of the last two university presidents, create a hostile place for queer and minority students. No student should have to worry about their safety on or off campus. It is unacceptable to have the sitting president of the university–who has made promises of supporting and engaging with the concerns and well-being of all students–remain silent on a hate crime.

As students, we expect, at the very least, to feel safe on campus. We, at the bare minimum, want a response from the university regarding what they plan to do about a hate crime against an ISU student right outside the Bone Center.

We need to demand more from our university, from the Board of Trustees, and from President Tarhule. We need to hear that our university is taking active steps to make sure that students are safe and that policy changes are made to prevent this from happening again.

We must ask for more from our leaders than the bare minimum.

Queer Students are Not Safe at ISU

Less than two weeks into the school year, ISU students have been forced to grapple with the reality of another blatant and violent act of homophobia on our campus. President Tarhule has refused to comment, stating a “need for more information” in a move that grimly echoes the avoidant actions of disgraced former school President Kinzie.

Tarhule’s administration made bold promises to create a safe and equitable campus in his earliest days. Yet we see a transparent attempt to maintain the facade of safe, marketable political neutrality.

Silence.

President Aondover Tarhule—the supposed leader of Illinois State University—declined to comment when asked Wednesday evening at the Academic Senate about the violent hate crime that occurred the previous Saturday, Aug. 24. The student was attacked in the early morning hours right outside where student government met in the Bone Center.

Silence. Not even a bland condemnation of hate in general, let alone full-throated support of ISU’s LGBTQIA+ community. Silence. This is cowardice and an absence of anything approaching leadership.

Has President Tarhule learned nothing from his predecessor, who was fired in part for the exact same inaction in responding to a hate crime against an ISU student?

We must demand transparency and accountability from the “leaders” of our university, like the incredibly overcompensated President Tarhule–paid $35,000 a month to remain silent on the pressing urgent issue facing campus: the safety of the vulnerable.

No Comment?

If you were not aware, ISU has a group called The President’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council that is made up of faculty and admin members. The vision statement for the DIAC: “Toward a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and socially just ISU.” The DIAC has been silent since the hate crime, which took place on August 24, 2024 President Tarhule has also failed to comment on the hate crime even when specifically asked to do so by students at a Student Government Association meeting. This failure to comment has left LGBTQIA+ feeling alienated and unprotected by ISU administration. It is also in direct contradiction to a statement he made when he was appointed the president of the university in 2024, saying:

“Under my leadership, Illinois State will remain visible, engaged, and a collaborative partner committed to improving the quality of life and enhancing the sense of belonging for everyone in our community.”

How will LGBTQIA+ students feel that they belong here if ISU’s president and administration do not advocate for or defend them?