Please sign this petition to help us show that hateful rhetoric being spread on campus affects the mental health and wellbeing of ALL minority students of the University.

For the past two years, several individuals have come onto Southern Illinois University Carbondale's campus trying to spread their hateful rhetoric.  Said rhetoric is the same that is often used to discriminate against, harass, assault and even end the lives of people in minority groups. In this entire time, the University administration has remained silent; no emails have been sent, nor have announcements been made addressing these incidents that happen on their property.  When I asked administration to take action, I was told nothing would be done because they did not want deal with constitutional free speech infringement claims against a public university. Despite this, if a student or staff member were to say the exact same things, they would face significant punishment. In light of the huge amount of mass shootings this year, with Illinois itself having 209, this creates a huge wellness concern for people on campus. Unfortunately, this is only being seen as a "queer issue." This petition will help the University see that this is an EVERYONE issue.