Students stage silent protest during Illinois State University's president speech
NORMAL — Minutes after Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule commenced the annual State of the University address on campus in Normal, a trio of protesters walked in front of the stage and quietly displayed a banner stating "ISU funds genocide."
The demonstration arrived a month after a crowd marched through uptown Normal and the ISU Quad calling for "not another bomb in Gaza."
Speaking to reporters after his address, Tarhule denied the university funds genocide.
"Let's get the straight — we don't invest the university's money outside of Illinois," he said.
Tarhule said the ISU Foundation collects donations from individuals that make "independent investment decisions."
"Historically, the president of the university has not interfered with the operation of the foundation, and that's the practice I want to keep," the university president said.
Before the president's speech began, a half-dozen protesters were stationed outside of the Center for Performing Arts, with at least two poster signs demanding a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Tarhule continued his speech uninterrupted as the banner was displayed for roughly 30 minutes. Standing next to the banner was a protester holding a photo of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death in 2003 while trying to block an Israeli military bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home .
Audience members were invited to ask Tarhule questions at the end of the address. Two questions were posed, each stating ISU had paid and accepted money from Caterpillar, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment whose headquarters is currently located in Irving, Texas, having left Peoria in 2017. Corrie's death was mentioned in one question that asked Tarhule how he will care for students and teachers, and "begin the process to divest from companies that are complicit in genocide."
Tarhule said the university understands it loses its competitive advantage if its leaders don't take care of faculty, students and staff and ensure they offer as competitive packages and offers as they can within the limits their revenues allow then.
Public records requests show the ISU Foundation received $1.2 million in payments from the Caterpillar for the Integrated Manufacturing Lab, dated 2004-06. An auditorium named for the company is also located inside ISU's State Farm Hall of Business, which opened in 2005.
The school president was first asked "what will it take for you to change so that you listen to our student body, your staff and the voices of people that are concerned about where our money goes and what blood ends up on it?"
Tarhule said he was pleased by ISU students' civic engagement and thanked the questioner for doing their part.
"With 21,500 students, we have a diversity of perspectives and positions that our constituents take. Our role as an institution to is to provide a safe and supportive environment for all people to share their positions," Tarhule said. "It is not our job to state one position, and ... I don't see it as my job to pick one side and to promote it as the university's position."
Several audience members chanted the banner's message after Tarhule finished answering questions. And as the audience vacated the venue, the outdoor protest group doubled in size and continued to follow and shout at Tarhule as he walked away from the performing arts hall.
Andrew Franson , a freshman from Mokena studying history education, was one of the students who held up the banner. In an interview after the speech, he said ISU has purchased orders from companies that have publicly funded Israel and its military.
While he declined to speak on behalf of the student group known as Peace for Palestine at ISU, Franson said he demonstrated in an effort to exercise his First Amendment right to free speech.
He said he was inspired to act because he cared abut his Palestinian friends, including "a wave of Palestinian refugees" he met as a senior in high school.
Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter:
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