Jonny talks with his former co-host, Caleb McKinley-Portee, and O.J. Duncan about some of the staffing issues for the Student Multicultural Resource Center, including the LGBTQ Resource Center, on the Southern Illinois University campus. Both are officers in the Graduate and Professional Student Council and are involved in working with campus administrators to address student concerns. Both are also out, queer advocates for the community. Together, they work with other students on campus to push for better representation for the LGBTQ community and its inclusion in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. They detail challenges and obstructions they are facing in doing this work. In short, they bring receipts.

Jonny shares highlights from the SIU “Rally for Diversity,” a student protest concerning staffing changes at the Student Multicultural Resource Center (SMRC). Students and others expressed a variety of concerns, including the sudden departure of the LGBTQ Resource Center Coordinator, Dr. Angela Towne. The Vice Chancellor of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Paul Frazier, attended the rally and addressed student concerns. Jonny then interviews the SMRC’s Executive Director, Dr. Renada Greer, and Dr. Frazier about services provided by their programs, the process for restaffing the LGBTQ RC, and how SIU might be poised to be an open and affirming university, recruiting and retainng minority students from surrounding states legislatively enacting bans and restrictions on higher education.