President Gilliam to Appear on Talk Tuah Podcast

By Martín Akamine-Alvarez | Photo by: Lauren Matz

After a long career at other, less relevant academic institutions (UChicago and Ohio State), it was announced in October of 2023 that Dr. Melissa L. Gillaim would be the next President of BU, making her the first Black Woman to serve as president of BU. Apart from her career in academia, President Gilliam also has small hobbies which she shares with the public. Those stress-reducing, relaxing activities include serving on the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory, the FDA, running abortion clinics, and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

While these hobbies make her seem like someone you could get an abortion with, Dr. Gilliam still had a bridge to gap with the people she oversees for her new job. Leading up to her installment, Gilliam took steps to appear less “presidential” by going on a “Wired autocomplete interview” style video to appear more relatable. However, after watching these videos, The Bunion ran student focus groups, who stated: “out of touch,” “where’s my financial aid,” “I haven’t had a TF since March” and “I didn’t expect that to be her voice.” Her approval ratings plateaued around to a “I don’t know/10”.

Gilliam’s need to reach the young, impressionable, and chronically online students was met with another inspiring, accomplished, and articulate woman: Hailey Welch, the Hawk Tuah girl. Hailey Welch’s infamous street interview exhibits her philosophical thinking and psychological understanding of the male mind. Her rise to fame led Tuah, or Welch, to get her own podcast, Talk Tuah. Moreover, Welch appeared in Boston to assist with advertising for the reformed MBTA, with the initiative “Walk Tuah (the train station).” Welch continued her philanthropic work by helping reduce Boylston station noise complaints. 

Seeing her popularity and pull with young people, Gilliam reached out to the Tuah, and booked her spot on the Talk Tuah podcast, set to release in the coming days. When asked about the content of the pod, Gilliam stated “I’ve never had such a stimulating conversation, I wish I could Talk Tuah everyday!”

When The Bunion student focus groups were shown early snippets of the podcast, approval shot up to “100%.” Members of the focus group stated “I love Hawk Tauh!” “She seems so normal!” and “Can Hawk Tuah do our commencement speech??”