Students at the University of Illinois are announcing the official formation of a Registered Student Organization, the aim of which is to fumigate the Urbana campus of partisan and corrupt administrators. In reaction to a scandal wrought at the hands of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Renee Romano and her staff in the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations (OIIR), ‘I Deserve Better’ is striving for a refreshed administration of integrity and mutual respect so that the campus may finally move beyond an era of clout. The group will advocate for the replacement of Vice Chancellor Renee Romano and Associate Vice Chancellor Anna Gonzalez and will call for a full review of their offices and financial endeavors. Those at ‘I Deserve Better’ believe that in a time of extreme economic hardship, when students and their families are asked to give more and faculty and staff are asked to work for less, that runaway administrative costs and malfeasance are exceptionally intolerable.
While students had hoped to work with University of Illinois Administrators, actions by Vice Chancellor Renee Romano and her offices have lead to an institutional impasse that can only be bridged by the immediate replacement of those administrators in question. The offensive actions of those in question include Vice Chancellor Romano’s refusal to acknowledge inherent student rights to free speech, partisan viewpoint discrimination against students who do not share administration views, and a refusal to answer the questions of students who want a logical, truthful explanation or admission of wrongdoing regarding the Students for Chief Illiniwek FOIA scandal. Similarly, the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations acted dishonorably by sending student interns to a meeting where student government members were drafting a resolution to admonish the actions of that student’s employers.
A Washington Lobbyist has contacted the organization and is eager to contribute his time in Springfield to help obtain legislative remedies to the situation. In addition to this, the Illinois Student Senate will be voting on a resolution tonight that admonishes the administration and calls for more accountable leadership in the Pine Lounge at the Illini Union at 7 P.M.
Vice Chancellor Renee Romano and Associate Vice Chancellor Anna Gonzalez have further tarnished the University of Illinois’ reputation with their behavior and Illinois Deserves Better looks forward to working with Interim President Stanley O. Ikenberry and Interim Chancellor Robert Easter to restore integrity to the great institution that is the state’s flagship school.
Contact INFO:
Illinois Deserves Better
President: Jerry Vachaparambil, 630-632-0808, jerrygvk@vachas.com
VP of Membership: Daniel Gilpin, 309-825-0227, dgilpin08@gmail.com
Marketing Director: Gabe Hartwig, 217-898-9041, ghartwi2@illinois.edu
Communications Director Bobby McNeily, 630-885-0174, bobbymcn