Series of student protests
In 2015, a series of protests at the University of Missouri related to race, workplace benefits, and leadership resulted in the resignations of the president of the University of Missouri System and the chancellor of the flagship Columbia campus. The moves came after a series of events that included a hunger strike by a student and a boycott by the football team. The movement was primarily led by a student group named Concerned Student 1950, referencing the first year black students were allowed to enroll in the university. The movement and protests were documented in two films, one made by MU student journalists and the other, "2 Fists Up", by Spike Lee. While it is alleged that bad publicity from the protests has led to dropping enrollment and cutbacks, others have cited budget cuts issued from the state legislature.
Background.
In 2010, two white students dropped cotton balls in front of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. They were arrested and charged with tampering, which is a felony, and which was prosecuted as a hate crime based on evocation of the historical slur "cotton picker" to describe enslaved or sharecropping blacks. The prosecutor asked for them to serve 120 days in jail but they were eventually only convicted of littering, which is a misdemeanor, and sentenced to probation and community service with no jail time. In 2011 a student was given probation for racist graffiti in a student dormitory. The events led to the creation of a diversity initiative called "One Mizzou" under MU chancellor Brady Deaton. This initiative was discontinued in 2015 owing to concerns that it had lost its meaning.
On September 12, 2015, a Facebook post by the student government president Payton Head described bigotry and anti-gay sentiment around the college campus, which gained widespread attention. He claimed that in an incident off campus, unidentified people in the back of a passing pickup truck directed racial slurs at him. "For those of you who wonder why I'm always talking about the importance of inclusion and respect, it's because I've experienced moments like this multiple times at THIS university, making me not feel included here." Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin called the incident "totally unacceptable" on September 17.
Protests.
The first student protests occurred on September 24, 2015, at an event called "Racism Lives Here," where protesters claimed nothing had been done to address Head's concerns. On October 1, a second "Racism Lives Here" event was held with 40–50 participants.
An incident involving a drunken student on October 4 gave rise to more racial tensions. While an African-American student group, the Legion of Black Collegians, was preparing for Homecoming activities, a white student walked on stage and was asked to leave. Supposedly, while departing the premises the student said, "These niggers are getting aggressive with me", according to the LBC. This prompted chancellor Loftin, traveling outside the US, to record a video message in response and to release a statement that said, "Racism and all prejudice is heinous, insidious and damaging to Mizzou... That is why all of us must commit to changing the culture at this university." Later that month, the student group "Concerned Student 1950" was created, referring to the first year the University of Missouri admitted black students.
On October 24, a police officer responding to a property damage complaint reported that an unknown vandal had smeared feces in the shape of a swastika on a bathroom wall in a dorm on campus.
On November 3, student Jonathan Butler launched a hunger strike, vowing not to eat until the president resigned. One of Butler's stated reasons for this was that Timothy Wolfe's car had struck him during a protest against Wolfe at the school's homecoming parade. During the incident, Students confronted the president by linking arms in front of his vehicle. Wolfe revved the car's engine and drove into Butler. No police charges were filed in connection to the incident.
His statement said, "Mr. Wolfe had ample opportunity to create policies and reform that could shift the culture of Mizzou in a positive direction but in each scenario he failed to do so." Butler later cited his participation in the Ferguson protests against the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown as a major influence for his action.
On November 7, with hundreds of prospective students flooding Mizzou's campus for the university's recruiting day, student protesters intervened with a "mock tour" where they recited racist incidents that occurred at MU beginning in 2010 with the dispersion of cotton balls on the lawn of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center along with more recent events such as the use of racial epithets against two young women of color outside of the MU Student Recreation Complex.
On November 8, Mizzou football players announced they would not practice or play until Wolfe resigned, potentially costing the university a $1 million fine if they had to forfeit an upcoming game against Brigham Young University. The Southeastern Conference Football Commissioner issued a statement saying, "I respect Missouri's student-athletes for engaging on issues of importance and am hopeful the concerns at the center of this matter will be resolved in a positive manner." The Mizzou Athletics Department previously indicated that it fully supported the players' actions.
The protests attracted widespread local, regional, and national news media attention. Some protesters said the coverage was impacted by journalists' lack of previous race-related experience, reliance on scripted behaviors, and desire to cover the event as "outsiders looking in."
Loss of health insurance for grad students.
One of Butler's reasons for his hunger strike was "graduate students being robbed of their health insurance". In August 2015, the university had issued a statement to graduate students that said, "The Affordable Care Act prevents employers from giving employees money specifically so they can buy health insurance on the individual market. Graduate teaching and research assistants are classified as employees by the IRS, so they fall under this ruling." The university had known about the Affordable Care Act concerns since July 21, but put off communicating with graduate students until announcing on August 14 that subsidies would be cut, the day before graduate health insurance plans were set to expire.
Resignations.
Wolfe issued a statement on November 8 implying that he would not step down and that he was "dedicated to ongoing dialogue to address these very complex, societal issues as they affect our campus community".
On November 9, however, Wolfe announced his resignation. Later that day Chancellor Loftin announced he would resign at the end of 2015 to take a research role at the university. His departure was hastened by the Board of Curators on November 11, who passed his responsibility to Interim Chancellor Hank Foley. His departure was initially assumed to be related to the protests. However, unlike Wolfe, student protesters had not requested that he step down. His resignation was the congruence of several issues raised by administrators and faculty, who were displeased with his leadership style, dismissal of administrators, and management of several campus incidents of racism and graduate health insurance subsidies that were allowed to lapse under his leadership.
The days after the resignation announcement resulted in some confusion, cancelled classes and reports of threats and suspicious activity. On the evening of November 10, there were reports of vehicles and unidentified individuals around campus posing a threat.
Rolla arrest.
A computer science and math student at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla confessed during his arrest to making a hoax threat to the university. An account with the same username on Reddit bragged that he had "trolled" Mizzou.
Reactions.
Melissa Click incident.
Soon after the announcement of the resignations, there was a widely publicized dispute between student photojournalist Tim Tai, on a freelance assignment for ESPN, and protesters on Carnahan Quad where they had erected an encampment. While attempting to cover the event, Tai got into a dispute with, and was physically confronted by, students and those who would later be identified as University of Missouri staff and faculty, including untenured communication professor Melissa Click. Click appeared to grab Tai's camera after he approached her asking if "he could be here", and then threatened student Kayla Schierbecker, yelling "Who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here." Other staff who interfered with Tai's attempts to photograph the scene included Janna Basler, the university's assistant director of Greek life and leadership, and Richard J. "Chip" Callahan, professor and chair of religious studies. Schierbecker's video of Tai debating his right to be in a public area became widely distributed and commented on in the mainstream media.
The day after the incident, with Tai getting support from the Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder and others, the campus group Concerned Student 1950 passed out fliers calling the confrontation between journalists and protesters a "Teachable Moment" and directing the students to welcome the media to campus as a way to tell the story of the protests. They also removed signs previously put up warning the media to stay away from the student encampments. Three University of Missouri employees involved in the altercation apologized and Click resigned from her courtesy appointment at the Missouri School of Journalism. On January 25, 2016, Click was charged with misdemeanor assault linked to her behavior during the incident and accepted community service in exchange for dismissal of the charges.
As of January 5, 2016[ [update]], more than 100 faculty members had signed a letter in defense of Click. Several faculty members wrote letters of support to local and national news outlets.
In a video obtained by the "Columbia Missourian" in February 2016, Click was seen shouting a profanity at police officers as they attempted to clear protesting students from a road at the school's homecoming parade. Click defended her actions, saying that she was sorry for her language but that she was also sorry she had to put herself in front of the police to protect the students.
That same month, the Faculty Council and Intercampus Faculty Council urged administrators and the board of curators to comply with the system's Collected Rules and Regulations when dealing with Click.
On February 25, 2016, the University of Missouri Board of Curators voted 4–2 to terminate Click's employment with the university. As a result of this action, the University of Missouri was placed on the American Association of University Professors' Censure List. Commenting in an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education, Click stated, "I'm a white lady. I'm an easy target." In 2017, she was hired as a lecturer by Gonzaga University, where she later became an assistant professor.
KKK hoax.
On November 10, 2015, Student Body President Payton Head made an alarming Facebook post that he later rescinded. He stated, "Students please take precaution. Stay away from the windows in residence halls. The KKK has been confirmed to be sighted on campus. I'm working with the [campus police], the state trooper and the National Guard." Major Brian Weimer with the school's police department responded by saying, "There is no Ku Klux Klan on campus." Weimer also said that the National Guard was not on campus. Head apologized, saying on Facebook, "I'm sorry about the misinformation that I have shared through social media."
On November 11, 2015, the MU officially remained open, though many individual classes were cancelled after threats on social media and by phone. During a meeting between the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus and student activists, University of Missouri police reported that an anonymous caller phoned in a threat to the Oldham Black Culture Center.
One professor, Dale Brigham, was at the center of controversy when he chose to administer a planned exam for Nutritional Science 1034, saying, "If you don't feel safe coming to class, then don't come to class... I will be there, and there will be an exam administered in our class," while allowing students an option to take a make-up exam. After some students complained that the professor was not taking the threats seriously, Brigham apologized and offered his resignation, saying, "If my leaders think that my leaving would help, I am all for it. I made a mistake, and I do not want to cause further harm." However, the university turned down the resignation later that day.
Gus T. Ridgel, one of the nine African-American students enrolled into the University of Missouri in 1950, "was surprised and disappointed by the racist incidents at the university that prompted a campus upheaval".
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