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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 is primarily led by a student group named Concerned Student 1950.

Background

In 2010, two white students were arrested for dropping cotton balls in front of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, and in 2011 a student was given probation for racially charged 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 complained of 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, 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. The university's Department of Residential Life filed photographs of the fecal smear in a hate crime incident report, and the residential life director emailed a number of people on campus, including a Hillel organization, to request information about anti-Semitic activity on campus. The investigator in the university's Title IX office, noted in an email that the swastika may have been "meant to offend and threaten a larger population of our campus community in addition to Jewish students".

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 Wolfe's car had hit him during a protest against Wolfe at the school's homecoming parade. As students confronted the president by linking arms in front of his vehicle, video showed Butler advancing towards the vehicle and making minimal contact. 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, black 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 South Eastern 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.

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." With the IRS ruling as a pretext, the University slashed 75% of previously paid healthcare costs. Conservatives contributed to the confusion by ignoring the University's breach of trust and instead falsely blaming Obamacare and the grad students.

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.

Reactions

Melissa Click incident

Soon after the announcement of the resignations, there was a widely publicized dispute between student photojournalists Tim Tai, on a freelance assignment for ESPN, and Mark Schierbecker and protesters on Carnahan Quad, where they had erected an encampment. While attempting to cover the event, Tai and Schierbecker got into a dispute with, and were physically confronted and bullied by, students and those who would later be identified as University of Missouri staff and faculty, including professor Melissa Click. Video of the incident where Tai debated First Amendment rights to be in the public area was recorded by student Schierbecker and 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, 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. The student group 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 subsequently apologized, one of them, Melissa Click (whose call for "some muscle" to remove Schierbecker from the scene had received wide attention due to the video), resigning 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.

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.

As of January 5, 2016, more than 100 faculty members had signed a letter in defense of Click.

In a new video released to the public by the Columbia Missourian on February 13, 2016, Click was shown screaming profanities at police officers as they attempted to clear protesting students from a roadway. Click defended her actions, saying that she was sorry for her language, but that she was also sorry she had to put herself between the police and the students in order to protect the students.

On February 25, 2016, the University of Missouri Board of Curators voted 4–2 to terminate Click's employment with the university.

KKK hoax

That night, Head made an alarming Facebook post that he would later rescind. 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 MUPD, 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." The claim of a Ku Klux Klan presence was a hoax initiated by Andrew Anglin, editor of white supremacist website The Daily Stormer.

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".

Related protests

The University of Missouri events inspired other protests or indications of solidarity at other campuses in the United States. Among these were Ithaca College, Yale University, Smith College, Claremont McKenna College, Amherst College, and Brandeis University.

On November 13, the dean of students at Claremont McKenna College stepped down, after student protesters adopted similar tactics to those in Missouri, including a hunger strike.

Appointment of interim president

On the evening of November 12, the governing board of the University of Missouri decided in a closed-door meeting to name Michael Middleton, a law professor and deputy chancellor emeritus as the interim president. Middleton, a 1968 graduate of the university and the third African American to graduate from its law school, recently retired from the university after 30 years.

Politicians

During an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, President Barack Obama praised the protesters, but cautioned against protest tactics that he felt stifled open dialogue at the University of Missouri and other campuses. He said, "There is clearly a problem at the University of Missouri, and that's not just coming from students. That's coming from some faculty. And I think it is entirely appropriate for students in a thoughtful, peaceful way to protest—what they see as injustices or inattention to serious problems in their midst. I want an activist student body just like I want an activist citizenry."

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder issued a statement supporting the journalists covering the protests on November 9. He called for investigating the incident saying, "Faculty and staff cannot be allowed to pick and choose which rights, viewpoints and freedoms they respect. I renew my call to restore law and order on campus, so the rights of all are protected."

Turning away reporters at campus meeting

On February 10, 2016, Concerned Student 1950 held a meeting on campus. The meeting had been advertised as being for "black students and students of color". The group asked all reporters to leave before the meeting began. Three white reporters then left the room. However, one other white reporter, a student named Mark Schierbecker, refused to leave, and justified his refusal to leave by saying, "This is considered a limited public forum.... It's open to the public, and especially to students of the university. I am here on assignment for a story and it is my personal preference to stay." Despite the meeting taking place on campus property, the group continued to ask him to leave, and eventually threatened to call campus police. Instead, the group disbanded soon after the start of the meeting, intending to relocate the meeting at a more private part of campus.

References

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