I think you may know why this Colombian, Latina immigrant is writing to you.

On Saturday, several students and members of the ISU community started a peaceful protest at the Republican tailgate. They held signs and demonstrated against the repeatedly racist, sexist, anti-immigrant views of presidential candidate Donald Trump. They were not yelling. They were not violent. They held their signs.

“Educated Latinos against racism.”

“Not numbers, Neighbors.”

“Dreamers against Racism.”

“No human being is illegal.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Some ISU community members, people participating in the tailgate and others started harassing protesters. Throwing can tabs at the students, making scribbles, hitting signs and expressing their loud and uneducated opinions. They, once again, showed that attending a university does not guarantee you are fully aware and educated about the things that really matter.

“Excuse me, immigrants, do you not know how to speak? You can only write signs.”

“Send all these Mexicans back to Mexico, Mr. Trump.”

“Ugh. They’re getting so close to us.”

“Do you pay taxes to the US government? You are just uninformed.”

Students and protesters feared for their safety and well-being, yet they stood in their position and continued their protest. A woman, wearing an Iowa State shirt, ripped my friend’s sign from top to bottom, supported by the ignorant laughter and yelling of the community members in the surroundings. The video, made public online and shared on media platforms by several students, did not surprise anyone who comes from a multicultural background or is aware of issues on immigration/racism.

“It’s embarrassing that this happened in Iowa State! Students were doing a peaceful protest against racism and this ‘human being’ decided to show the world how ignorant some people are.”

“Now you all can see what happens here at Iowa State.”

“This disrespect needs to stop.”

“Indecency takes many forms. You may see a woman ripping up a poster. I see voices being snuffed and tyrannical views oppressing the non-violent opposition.”

I believe in freedom of speech. The students were protesting, once again I cannot stress this enough, PEACEFULLY. We can all have different opinions, but disrespecting other ISU members is just unacceptable. Just as it is letting a presidential candidate come to an event where people are drinking, come to an institution where students immigrating from all around the world are constantly enrolled and where international researchers and staff members are welcomed every year.

Iowa State, as with the last school year’s sexual harassment issue, has failed again at providing a safe environment for community members showing their point of view. ISU has put members at risk by letting all this disrespect happen, by welcoming a presidential candidate that clearly has no business in a multicultural university located in Ames, not in Boone (as Mr. Trump thought).

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” read the sign that was torn apart.

Multicultural students should not be silenced. This incident should spark conversation and future actions toward racism/sexism in the community. We all should feel we have an executive board that is firm in its views and defends ISU students no matter what their cultural background, or immigrant status is.

President Leath, I am talking to you in this instance.

When a person in a position of power is absent in a national, and now really local immigration/racism controversy, and welcomes Mr. Trump to ISU, specially Jack Trice Stadium, we, 23.24 percent of the student body, multicultural/international students, feel left behind.

Do you stand with us? Does ISU stand with us?