University of Missouri students achieved their wish on Nov. 10 when, following a weeks-long protest, the university’s president and the school's chancellor resigned. Tensions regarding racism on the university’s campus had been building since September.
At the beginning of the school year, Mizzou Student Government President Payton Head took to Facebook to spread awareness and make others aware of the bigotry occurring on campus. Along with incidents of racism, people on the campus have also witnessed and fallen victim to anti-homosexual and anti-transgender hostility.
“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,” Head said, according to CNN.
According to CNN, students and faculty have stated that racial tension has been an ongoing issue on the campus for decades. However, the recent protests were results of student anger aimed at the administration for their lack of response to racial slurs being openly used, as well as other racial incidents that have occurred this year.
Student protests have included a hunger strike, initiated by graduate student Jonathan Butler. Additionally, the Mizzou football team threatened to not take the field for their game until the university’s president, Tim Wolfe and Chancellor, R. Bowen Loftin, stepped down from their respective positions.
Wolfe’s swift resignation following these events came as a shock to the university, stated CNN.
“It is my belief we stopped listening to each other; we didn't respond or react,” he said, according to CNN. “Use my resignation to heal and start talking again.”
The university’s Columbia campus consists of 35,000 students. White undergraduates comprise 79 percent of the student body, while African-Americans only make up 8 percent of the undergraduate population.