The student movement that forced University of Missouri President Timothy Wolfe to resign his post last week, paired with the 1,000-strong March of Resilience at Yale University on November 9, has touched off a wave of protests against racism on college campuses across the country. “It is our moral duty to stand in solidarity with the black students at University of Missouri-Columbia, Concerned Student 1950, Jonathan Butler and student-athletes on the football team in the fight for the removal of their system President, Tim Wolfe”.
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The University of Missouri (also known as Mizzou) has been in the national spotlight since the beginning of November.
General threats were made to black students, warning them of violent acts that might have ensued in the days following the pressured resignation.
Three months after the ruling, Gaines left his home for stamps and was never seen again.
A person of ordinary sensibilities would think that tends to show that the University is neither institutionally racist nor narrow-minded.
Contrary to their similarities, UF’s president was hired just this year while the University of Missouri’s president resigned this week. The 68-year-old stepped down in August but continued to work part-time with now-ousted Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin on a plan to increase inclusion and diversity at the school.
Elsewhere in the country, from Smith College in the Pioneer Valley of MA to Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, students confronted college authorities over “systematic oppression”, while others drew attention to the dismal rates of Black faculty on campuses across the country. “I think Mizzou is a catalyst, an inspiration perhaps, but not a one-off event”.
That same day, students at California’s Claremont McKenna College (CMC) scored a little-known victory when Dean of Students Mary Spellman stepped down under pressure from students of color, including two who launched a hunger strike while calling for her resignation. “They not only got their student body but the administration to be on their side because they all saw how important the issue was”.
He said he’s received hate mail and death threats recently, mostly in response to his criticism of the administration.
It’s the difference between feeling understood and the pressure of being seen as representing a race, students and others said. The history of the schools themselves may play a part in why these issues are becoming more prevalent. “So with that, historically, that everlasting thought process is going to continue”, Morrow said. “No matter what, someone will have that mind frame”. In my university, as in most universities, we have students represented on the Board of Trustees, the highest governing council in the system.
The state of affairs at DePaul is slightly different. “As a matter of truth, morality and equality, Black Lives Matter and Brenau encourage the realization of that basic reality throughout all societies and cultures across the globe”. DePaul junior Tomas House attributes this to the nature of Chicago and its residents.
“There’s a difference in the learning experience that you have when you’re learning from someone you believe you can identify with more closely”, said Micah Oliver, 21, president of the Black Student Association at the University at Buffalo. “(Incidents) may not be a big deal here, but BSU does a good job of talking about those issues here, but we should have a group that talks to those experiencing issues like these”. Many, like House, do agree that more could – and should – be done.
Victoria Turner, a sophomore psychology major who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, said that her sister attends the University of Missouri.
“It’s important to say this happened and we’re not okay with it, and it’s important for students to say it as well – I can’t emphasize that enough”, Bial said.
This is the second time Obama has publicly defended free speech on college campuses. And literature endorses so much sexism – starting with the King James version of the Bible – that it’s hard to know where to begin.
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Men of Vision and Empowerment, MOVE, and Sisters Together Recognizing Our Never-ending Growth, STRONG, as well as other groups on campus came together last Friday for a solidarity gathering with Mizzou to talk about the protests and offer support.
