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Students urge trustees to act after campus antisemitism complaints, cite broken promises
Summary
Two students and an alumna's family representative told the University of Illinois Board of Trustees that Jewish students have faced harassment during a student referendum and protests and urged trustees to enforce the university's commitments to student safety and civil-rights protections.
Two students and a family representative used the board's public-comment period to say Jewish students have faced harassment on campus, to describe specific incidents during a student referendum and protests, and to urge the Board of Trustees to ensure administrators enforce the university's commitments to protect students.
"If you have compassion, empathy, and a sense of decency, you'll understand that you need to act to ensure that hostility faced by Jewish students does not continue," said Matan Milotic, a student at Urbana studying economics, who described what he said were campaign violations, anti‑Jewish flyers and an administrator's dismissive email when he sought intervention.
Milotic told the trustees he emailed Student Affairs leadership about apparent violations during a student election campaign and received an email from an associate vice chancellor that, Milotic said, "dismissed my concerns, ignored obvious violations, and insulted me for daring to ask the university to enforce their own rules." He said the experience made him unable to concentrate in class and led him to plan to graduate in August instead of earlier.
Another student, Mark Ruse, a rising junior at Urbana, said the campus climate had grown threatening over the past year and referenced the killing outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., to underline safety concerns. He called on the board to "recommit" to an agreement the university signed with the Jewish community and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which he said pledged support for Jewish students and Title VI protections.
Sharon Ormsby Shelley, speaking on behalf of Clarence Shelley's family and alumni communities, asked the trustees to materially honor Clarence Shelley’s legacy. Her remarks focused on memorialization and scholarship support rather than the campus-safety allegations raised by the students.
Chair Ruiz acknowledged the comments and said the allegations described by Milotic had been brought to the board's attention previously and were under review.
No formal board action or vote followed the public comments during the meeting; the board record shows the remarks were made during the public-comment period and that trustees said they would review the matters raised.
