Photo courtesy Illinois State University Facebook
NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State athletics has implemented a series of actions for their plan for social change in an effort to promote social justice, equity and inclusion.
One of the actions was a virtual forum for student-athletes that was led by Interim Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Doris Houston and Assistant Professor Dr. Nathan Stevens. It gave student-athletes to share what’s on their mind and voice their concerns related to the incident with Athletic Director Larry Lyons.
According to Dr. Houston, around 60 student-athletes participated in the voluntary forum. While she thought it was a good discussion, the participants weren’t as vocal as she expected them to be. However, a number of student-athletes have expressed their concerns and provided feedback since then. Dr. Houston said it’s important for everyone to voice their opinion.
“I think it’s absolutely essential and that’s our right,” said Dr. Houston. “We have a right to free speech and sometimes it’s important particularly for students to be able to let people know what their needs are, what their concerns are, and what they’d like to see change.”
Dr. Houston added that ISU athletics is off to a good start, but it’s going to be on all of us when it comes to equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice.
“It really is an opportunity for us to grow as a society, for us to grow as a campus, but we can not take our eye off the prize,” said Dr. Houston