As signatories, we, the student body of Colorado Mesa University, call for the immediate resignation of University President John Marshall. Through actions, words, and omissions of responsibility, John Marshall has repeatedly failed to defend and uphold the values that we as a university hold dear. Rather than foster a climate of acceptance, Marshall has repeatedly stood idly by—putting marginalized students in danger in order to save face and arrogantly feign righteousness.

Most recently, John Marshall allowed white supremacist Jared Taylor to speak on campus on March 27, 2025, naively conflating freedom of speech with entitlement to a platform. However, his actions both during and before his tenure as President are more extensive—and at times more openly hostile to the groups he claims to accept.

John Marshall was a beneficiary of political favor. He was handed a cushy job of developmental director by then CMU President Tim Foster—a former Republican legislator. Marshall’s hiring was unprecedented, as it went against the typical hiring process that CMU (then Mesa State College) had outlined in a 34-page manual. In fact, Marshall’s most significant background at the time was as a political operative for Republican candidates. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with having certain political views, the fact that both Foster and Marshall had a career in Colorado politics under the same party indicates that Marshall was not hired because he was qualified for the job.

Marshall’s lack of qualification became more apparent when he became CMU President in 2021. Typically, an individual needs a doctorate to be considered for University President. John Marshall notably lacks this distinction. While he did pursue a PhD, he authored no dissertation—a requirement for the degree. In fact, Marshall had no academic publications to his name.

Clearly, John Marshall is unqualified to be president of a University. His success is the product of a spoils system lacking foundation in merit that would otherwise be the sole consideration for a position such as his own.

Additionally, John Marshall has on numerous occasions made and defended disparaging remarks made towards marginalized individuals, including LGBTQ+ people and racial minorities. Below is a list of some of John Marshall’s transgressive actions and failures:

·       In 2006, John Marshall was campaign manager for Bob Beauprez’s gubernatorial bid. His running mate, Janet Rowland, made homophobic comments equating homosexuality to bestiality. John Marshall dismissed concerns about Rowland’s comments, saying that her critics were “bed-wetting, pampered liberals” and that “no one cares what they say about anything.”

·       In 2012, Shane Williams, a football player for CMU, assaulted a lesbian woman outside of a bar, fracturing her skull on a street. John Marshall—then Vice President—indicated that no action would be taken against Williams because, “we needed due process.” He later pressured CMU staff not to hold anti-violence workshops.

·       An eyewitness at a CMU basketball game expressed concern to Marshall about homophobic comments directed towards a player for the other team. Marshall downplayed the comments, claiming that it was “just sports.”

·       In 2023, Marshall attended then-President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as a guest of congresswomen Lauren Boebert. Boebert has repeatedly made racist and homophobic remarks, and she was supportive of the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol building, which resulted in the deaths of 5 police officers. While he denied any political intent, his history as a political operative says otherwise.

·       Most recently, in 2025, CMU approved a student-led club’s invitation of white supremacist Jared Taylor to host a speaking event on campus. In an interview with the Denver Post, John Marshall placed Taylor’s views on the same level as those of hypothetical “trans” speakers. His response garnered the praise of Jason Lee Van Dyke, an attorney known for representing members of the Patriot Front, the Proud Boys, and the Aryan Freedom Network. On the day of the event, political content creator Dean Withers confronted Marshall, who refused to answer any of his questions alleging hypocrisy in his stance.

If John Marshall’s claims of acceptance of all students are true, he has only surface level tolerance. He has defended hateful rhetoric as a necessary evil in a free society, but the rhetoric has conveniently come only from one side of the political aisle. His empty words are not a genuine love of his diverse student body, but rather a concession of acceptance in order to keep his own career. In a society where hateful rhetoric is increasingly violent and marginalized individuals are continually under attack, John Marshall’s facade of tolerance is crumbling around him—leaving in its place only empty words fueled by apathy and self-interest.

At Colorado Mesa University, we pride ourselves in seven key values which create an accepting community where individuals are safe and education is available to all who seek it. These values are love, dignity, courage, humility, resilience, curiosity, and power. John Marshall has—through both action and inaction—demonstrated constant disregard for these values. He disregards love by supporting hateful people, discomforting marginalized students. He disregards dignity by platforming white supremacy in direct opposition to the values of his student body. He disregards courage by avoiding confrontation to save face, instead opting for nothing-burgers of responses when faced with confrontation. He disregards humility by doubling down on hole in his beliefs, defending them as necessary evils rather than admitting wrongdoing or falsehood. He disregards resilience by failing to overcome challenges—instead making himself part of the problem that we students must overcome. He disregards curiosity by rejecting intolerance of the intolerant in favor of a flawed interpretation of the First Amendment. John Marshall cares only for the seventh and final value of our university: power. He acts in collaboration with his political allies, ignoring the cries of his student body in favor of his own selfish needs. John Marshall says that CMU is a Human Scale University—a model of the world that we want to create. It just so happens that the world Marshall wants to create is in direct opposition to the well-being of us students. If there is a place in this community for John Marshall, it is not among the student of Colorado Mesa University.

For the sake of our student body, John Marshall must resign.