Excluding the Iowa State Daily Media Group and the campus climate committee members, the number of attendees at the forum focused on undergraduate solutions Tuesday maxed at two.

One was an undergraduate student who left midway through and the other was a community member on an internship in the Ames area wanting to know more about Iowa State.

On all sides, this is unacceptable.

The campus climate survey, which was sent to students, faculty and staff in October 2017, lacked turnout — 17 percent compared the encouraged 30 percent. The results, which were released in May 2018, also didn’t have the opportunity of having the full student base present.

Yet the results painted a portrait of Iowa State that spoke to not feeling welcome, included or safe in an environment built to further one’s education.

When respondents were asked if they had personally experienced harassment, 19 percent of respondents said yes. Of those respondents, 32 percent said they had five or more instances of harassment within the last year.

And while four committees have since been formed to address these concerns — with recommendations heading to the Office of the President in March — campus involvement regarding the climate survey and its results are not as high as they should be.

There should have been more done to encourage students to participate in the forum. On the flip side, students of all backgrounds — not just those who were impacted negatively on campus — should care about bettering the Iowa State experience for all parties.

So, for those of you who missed the forum, here are the recommendations as laid out by the committee to improve the undergraduate experience.

Theme 1: Increase and improve training and awareness

• Robust, consistent, customizable professional development/training opportunities for staff
• Cy for Civility campaign
• New student onboarding
• Faculty training for more inclusive classrooms

Theme 2: Enhance sense of belonging

• Enhance resources and tools available for navigating campus
• Accessible restrooms and entrances
• Gender-neutral restrooms
• Meditation/mindfulness rooms, and others
• Review and enhance the quantity and quality of images on campus

For those wanting to provide feedback on the committee recommendations, students can reach out to [email protected].

This is your campus and this is your experience. It is time to get engaged in a proactive manner. Iowa State is not immune to discrimination, harassment, assault, microaggressions, sexism, racism or other forms of exclusionary behavior.

Help Iowa State do better, because it is not enough to just be a bystander to positive change.