On Wed. Jan. 29, UNI Proud held a peaceful protest in response to the new language in UNI’s proposed strategic plan update. Proud is UNI’s social and political LGBTQ student organization on campus. Allie Clark (they/them), is a double major in Social Work and Psychology and also serves as the ’24-25 Proud President.
Clark says that Proud is a safe place. “We are fighting for principles that push an inclusive campus environment for people who are LGBTQ+ and their allies. We host safe spaces for both queer students and allies to destress and just have somewhere to exist free of any judgment. We’re also really involved in activism and advocacy efforts, both on campus and in the community. Those efforts include protesting, running awareness campaigns and spreading information.We also like to have panels and seminars for faculty, students, and external organizations like the public library and ThreeHouse.”
The changes to UNI’s proposed strategic plan update are due to Iowa Senate File 2435 which, among other things, imposes restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion offices at the regent universities. Governor Kim Reynolds signed the file into law on May 9, 2025. However the law will not go into effect until July 1, 2025. UNI has already restructured several offices in compliance with the impending law.
Clark expressed frustration with the university haste to make the changes. “It’s really frustrating knowing that when all the changes were first happening, student life got reorganized so that international engagement and veterans affairs stayed. The university cherry picked which departments offices they felt were worth saving. At the end of the day, they did not choose a lot of the offices and resources within the CME and within Gender and Sexuality Services.”
While the changes in verbiage may seem inconsequential, Penelope Wilmoth (she/they) the social activism and outreach coordinator for Proud this year, is unhappy with the changes that have been made to the proposed strategic plan. “The changes that were made to the proposed strategic plan are based on ideas of ableism, of racism, of homophobia, of transphobia, of classicism. It was hard to see verbiage directly related to me being crossed out in red ink.”
Mara Blevins, (she/they) director of media relations for Proud said that even finding the proposed changes was a struggle. “The only reason we even found that the proposed plan had been completely redone and was because I had read through a whole email from the university. It was tucked away at the very bottom. Most people I know did not read through that email.”
The potential changes are not reflected on the UNI website or on the Board of Regents website. Wilmoth says that while they know the changes are unavoidable, she feels left out of the conversation. “I would say that the changes to the Strategic Plan that have been made and similar changes across Iowa have made marginalized students, in my experience, feel left out of the conversation. It feels like there’s no protections put in place to make sure that I have an equal and adequate education when compared to students who are not marginalized based on their identity.”
Wilmoth expanded on their thoughts, saying “We do understand that the university does have this file that tells them what they do have to change. That is why in our advocacy we always make sure to include that we are against this file and this plan, because they both go hand-in-hand. The senate file is what led to the plan revisions. But, they’re both bad. We understand that changes had to be made, but just wish there was more support for the marginalized students on campus.”
The group says that there are many ways for people to get involved. Clark says “There is always a bit of hesitancy from community allies to get involved with diverse student orgs. Allies can and should show up and be involved.”
They continue on to explain, “DEI rollbacks hurt everyone, even those identities that aren’t marginalized, because DEI includes everybody. It is important to have these vulnerable conversations and address the gaps that exist, and it is important to know that everyone has a space in that conversation. If you have privilege, you should be using it to amplify the voices that are being silenced or pushed back against.”
Across the community, many are saying the same thing, “support each other” One protestor who wished to remain anonymous said “Nobody can take who you are. You are still a person. You know your identities are important. Lean on your peers. Take it one day at a time. If you show up we can get through it as a community.”
UNI Proud meets biweekly in the Rod Library Makerspace on Thursdays. Their next event will be focused on creating flower arrangements that are based on queer history. It will take place on February 13. For more information about UNI Proud, follow them on Instagram @NorthernIowaProud.
