Wolfe resigned last week. What that future will look like, however, and whether or not it will have a more racially tolerant atmosphere are unknowns.
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An African-American football player, who discussed his experiences with me via email and who has asked to remain anonymous, recounts how hard it was for him to move from his hometown to a school in New England. Students who felt they were disadvantaged under the leadership of Wolfe were relieved and flushed with hope that his resignation represented a step toward positive change. “I would be completely shocked”.
This summer, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law the Campus Free Expression Act, which prohibits the state’s universities from restricting student protests to designated “free speech zones”.
“I am here because I am proud to be Black, ” said junior Hector Caminero.
But in the halls of student government, elected student officials are nonetheless taking it seriously. Three Missouri men accused of making online terrorist threats against black students have been arrested.
President Jessie Pringle and Vice President Zach George are being called to resign.
They have presented demands to the university that included increasing faculty diversity, a team of counselors for students of color and mandatory “inclusion and belonging” training for all students and staff.
Monteiro said universities “must first disruptively and intentionally hire a critical mass of faculty and adminstrators” of colour and make diversity an explicit part of strategic plans. Others were jarred by the loud mass of marchers – one student responding to the “black lives matter” chant with “police lives matter”.
Perhaps the most important lesson from the Mizzou students’ protests is that racism is not an issue in decline in the US. We totally believe that. Four years of that will do nothing to prepare students to run the world.
The one claim of racism cited by protesters with solid evidence resulted in the university moving the offending student off campus pending an investigation.
“I know a lot of opposition stems from the impression that Tim Wolfe was bullied into his resignation”, Head said.
Gray-Little, who is black, issued a statement Friday in which she said, “We can do better”. This isn’t just an issue on university campuses. “This isn’t something that came out of nowhere”. But many universities have gone out of their way to accommodate those delicate sensibilities.
Middleton, whose appointment as interim system president was announced Thursday, said he keeps a list of those original demands on his desk. “We’re of all talk, no action”. “What are you doing?” As the coaching staff stood in full support of their protest, media coverage began to detail the story to a mass audience. The dean of student life also attended.
“Raise your hand if you’re a little bit uncomfortable”, she said as a smattering of hands went up.
The poll shows consistent views across most groups polled, with black Missourians and Democrats expressing the highest levels of support for the students and Pinkel.
“To the students of color at Mizzou, we, the students of color at Boston University, stand with you in solidarity”, Jackson said.
Dr. Cross’s cynical but witty reply: “We want to build a university our football team can be proud of”.
Students are not just “bullies” complaining about a few fictional issue. “It is time for the demonstrations and the hostile rhetoric to stop”, the letter says. “Right now the problem that people are focused on is just the all black one”.
“At the root of it is not just encouraging but ensuring that high school students and undergraduate students are aware of that as a career path”, Olivares said. “It was great to see so many people come out to support something we haven’t fully experienced firsthand”.
“Basically, it’s both ethically right and practically more productive and creative”, he said. “I think KU has been very stagnant in being able to provide change and a welcoming environment for minorities”.
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“I wasn’t as aware of it before because I wasn’t a marginalized student”, Sroor said. “It’s made me sort of start paying attention to those things more. They not only got their student body but the administration to be on their side because they all saw how important the issue was”.
