The tumultuous events from the September Cy-Hawk football game brought to light issues and concerns that have plagued a portion of the ISU student population for years.

When Shelby Mueller, 20, of West Des Moines, ripped Jovani Rubio’s poster, different minority communities across campus personally felt that tear. So they asked Iowa State to act.

Mueller is not an ISU student, but some of the students in the crowd encouraging her actions are.

Some multicultural students on campus have said they don’t feel safe. They say they feel discriminated against and marginalized, or feel left out and looked down upon.

Students Against Bigotry demanded an administrative response.

And they deserve one.

The group asked only a few days after the Cy-Hawk game for a meeting with President Steven Leath, and received one this past Tuesday. Getting a meeting with President Leath is a positive step forward, and we don’t doubt that President Leath is dedicated to hearing what students and concerned faculty and staff have to say.

But this is a conversation that should have occurred long before it was this big of an issue.

Students should never have to feel unsafe on campus. A university campus is a place to feel safe so students, faculty and staff can learn, grow and experiment.

An environment where students feel unsafe simply walking around is unacceptable.

The Faculty and Staff Affinity Council, the Black Faculty and Staff Association, Colegas, Building Community, the LGBTQA+ Faculty and Staff Association, the Social Justice Collective of the SOE and other ISU staff and faculty were displeased with the lack of response to the tailgate’s events, saying the university’s response lacked empathy and was untimely, as it was released three days after the video and story went viral.

According to a letter submitted to the Daily by the aforementioned groups, people at the tailgate “assaulted silent demonstrators with racist and xenophobic statements and physically assaulted students and staff by grabbing their faces and throwing bottle caps at them for nearly 4 hours.”

That is absolutely unacceptable.

Though not all of the actions may have been done by ISU students, those being harassed were students. And a three-day late written response and a 10-day late meeting with administration about feeling safe on campus doesn’t make the cut.

That meeting resulted in an open forum at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

While an open forum is a start, it cannot be the end of this conversation.

All members of the ISU community should feel safe on campus. Everyone has the right to be in a safe environment to express their ideas and grow to their highest potential.

Walking around worried about hearing a demeaning comment about your appearance, religion or sexual orientation does not make one feel safe.

We challenge Iowa State and the ISU student body to take a stand for those who feel oppressed or targeted and to erase discrimination on our campus.