Breaking -The president of the University of Missouri System says he is resigning amid student criticism of his handling of racial issues. President Tim Wolfe said Monday that his resignation is effective immediately. The announcement came at a special meeting of the university system’s governing body, the Board of Curators.
Unrest at the University of Missouri is now threatening the college football schedule. Over the weekend, at least 30 black football players announced they were joining fellow students in protest against the university system’s president, and declared they will no longer be participating in team activities until he is fired.
For months, black student groups have complained of racial slurs and other slights on the overwhelmingly white, 35,000-student flagship campus of the four-college system. Frustrations flared during a homecoming parade Oct. 10 when black protesters blocked system President Tim Wolfe’s car and he would not get out and talk to them. They were removed by police.
On Saturday night, black members of the football team joined the outcry. By Sunday, a campus sit-in had grown in size, graduate student groups planned walk outs, politicians began to weigh in, and a special meeting of the university system’s governing body was set for Monday morning in Columbia.
Wolfe hasn’t indicated he has any intention of stepping down, but agreed in a statement Sunday that “change is needed” and said the university is working to draw up a plan by April to promote diversity and tolerance.
The athletes did not say explicitly whether they would boycott the team’s three remaining games this season. The Tigers’ next game is Saturday against Brigham Young University at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, and canceling it could cost the school more than $1 million.
“The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe ‘Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere,'” the players said in a statement. “We will no longer participate in any football related activities until President Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence toward marginalized students’ experience. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!”
Head football coach Gary Pinkel expressed solidarity on Twitter, posting a picture of the team and coaches locking arms. The tweet said: “The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players.”
Practice and other team activities were canceled Sunday, Pinkel and Missouri athletic director Mack Rhoades said in a joint statement. The statement linked the return of the protesting football players to the end of a hunger strike by a black graduate student who began the effort Nov. 2 and has vowed to not eat until Wolfe is gone.
“Our focus right now is on the health of Jonathan Butler, the concerns of our student-athletes and working with our community to address this serious issue,” the statement said.
The protests began after the student government president, who is black, said in September that people in a passing pickup truck shouted racial slurs at him. In early October, members of a black student organization said slurs were hurled at them by an apparently drunken white student.
Many of the protests have been led by an organization called Concerned Student 1950, which gets its name from the year the university accepted its first black student. Its members besieged Wolfe’s car at the parade, and they have been conducting a sit-in on a campus plaza since last Monday.
At least 150 students gathered at the plaza Sunday night to pray, sing and read Bible verses, a larger crowd than on previous days. Many planned to camp there overnight amid temperatures that had dropped into the upper 30s.
Also joining in the protest effort are two graduate student groups that called for walkouts Monday and Tuesday.
Concerned Student 1950 has demanded, among other things, that Wolfe “acknowledge his white male privilege,” that he be removed immediately, and that the school adopt a mandatory racial-awareness program and hire more black faculty and staff.
The school’s undergraduate population is 79 percent white and 8 percent black. The state is about 83 percent white and nearly 12 percent black.
Wolfe, 56, is a former software executive and Missouri business school graduate whose father taught at the university. He was hired in 2011 as president, succeeding another former business executive who also lacked experience in academia.
He said Sunday that most of the group’s demands have already been incorporated into the university’s draft plan for promoting tolerance.
“It is clear to all of us that change is needed,” he said.
Already, at Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin’s request, the university announced plans to require diversity training for all new students starting in January, along with faculty and staff.
Lawmakers and elected officials began to weigh in Sunday. The chairman of a Missouri House higher education committee, Poplar Bluff Republican Rep. Steven Cookson, said in a statement that Wolfe “can no longer effectively lead” and should leave his post. Joining him in calling for Wolfe’s resignation was Assistant House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, the highest-ranking black member of that chamber.
Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon said the university must address the concerns so that the school is “a place where all students can pursue their dreams in an environment of respect, tolerance and inclusion.”
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri graduate, said the governing board needs to “send a clear message” to the students at the Columbia campus that they’ll address racism.
The Board of Curators, the system’s governing body, said in a statement that it planned to meet Monday morning. According to an agenda, part of the meeting will be closed to the public.
Missouri law allows the group to meet in a private “executive session” to discuss topics including privileged communications with university counsel or personnel matters, the statement said. A system spokesman didn’t respond to questions about the meeting.
The racial issues are just the latest controversy at the university in recent months, following the suspension of graduate students’ health care subsidies and an end to university contracts with a Planned Parenthood clinic that performs abortions.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
Easiest solution to this is to take away all their Scholarships and disband this season. Since when do the inmates run the college? It is time you take a stand on all campuses. It’s not a black or white thing anarchy is not the right solution.
yup
I am sick of their racial bellyaching.
I have read with great interest the comments on this situation at
Mizzou. How I wish I could come to your campus and speak with
all of you who comment here. You are — I assume from your University Population Stats, a majority white student body. From
your remarks here, it’s clear you know very little about the history
of your country — since the days of slavery — to the present time
in re race relations. I am a well-educated woman who lived through
the wars (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and now the Middle East) I have
seen my Country riven by racial dissension from the time I was a
little child. I had 4 brothers, all of whom served honorably in the
military forces of our Country. I served in private industry by being
a member of the huge effort that built our first ICBM site in Lincoln,
Nebraska, the Atlas Series A, up in the wheatfields of Nebraska,
as my contribution to the Cold war effort. I have lived through
the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Malcom X and other less well known citizens
of our great Country who gave their lives during the sit-ins against
racial discrimination in the 1950s-1960s. Many of these young
people were the undergraduates & graduate students of our
Great American Universities. I watched as the North Caroliina
Woolworth’s were “sat-in” by students from all over the country.
I, myself, took part in many o f these demonstrations. Eventually,
the students in Europe and other foreign Countries began their
own demonstrations against the injustice of racial division, bigotry and prejudices in both the United States and their own countries.
And now, today, I sit here and read these comments from the
students — and other Americans who love using the internet to
espouse their own vitriolic hatred against members of our society,
and I feel sickened. I feel the sea change that has taken place
in our population and our college students today. I sense the
feeling of “entitlement” these students have at Mizzou — an 83%
white student population with 8% black, who feel that they are
surrounded by their inferiors — the black student population — and
have resorted to the old days (going back to the 18th Century) when
your fellow Americans were considered “sub-human” and therefore,
property by their slave owners. I see that while things may have
changed in many areas over the past 50 years, we — Americans –\
and their families — are turning out a new population which has
regressed back to the days I speak of here. Many Caucasian,
black, oriental and Hispanic people died in 20th Century wars o
that all Americans could continue to enjoy the rights guaranteed
to us by our Constitution/The Bill of Rights, and our Declaration
of Independence.
To those of you whose remarks here show a complete lack of
understanding of your Country and its history, as well as a lack of
respect for those who died in our wars so that you could enjoy
the privileges of being born in the Greatest Democracy in History,
and a complete disrespect of your fellow students/icitizens, I shame
on you.. For my brothers (2 of whom gave all) in the military
service and are all deceased now, I will continue to believe that
their lives were not lost in vain because of many of the views and
disgust expressed here, for which they fought and died.
I am beginning to understand why Mr Tom Brokaw’s book, “The
Greatest Generation” touched so many hearts and lives. It spoke
to the patriotism and love of country that existed in the 20th century.
It was not perfect, but let someone attack us with ill intent, and
the whole country pulled together, in spite of its different ethnic
groups, religions, race, etc.
I close this overlong treatise with the hope that some of you will
open a history book — not centuries ago, but just for the 20th
Century in order that you can understand exactly what it means
to be an American. Your sense(s) of racial bias, lack of compassion
and “us against them,” attitudes do nothing to further progress
and State of our Union. I would ask in closing that you consider
the following adage in reference to the Fall of the Roman Empire
centuries ago.
‘ A GREAT SOCIETY CANNOT BE DESTROYED FROM WITHOUT UNTIL IT HAS DESTROYED ITSELF FROM WITHIN”
Nov 11: In memory of my beloved brothers who served this
country in the wars in the 20th Century and are no longer here.
(Of great import to me, I wish to clarify that not all the students
represent what I have written here. Obviously with the size of the
demonstrations, there are many up- and outstanding white students
at Mizzou who “get it.” Thank you for reading my post (if you did)
You are right if the college gives in to those radicals it will not stop it will happen at other colleges! You hear every day where a black teacher makes racial remarks like whiteys should kill themselves but it don’t get far with the media that teacher should have been fired but no more was said about it! I wonder how many of those blacks paid their own way? Most likely got freebies!!!
How about not going to any football games or supporting any form of sporting events for this college.
I AGREE!!!!!!!!!
ANOTHER COWARD caving in to these LIBERAL terrorist! WE DESERVE what is coming to our once GREAT NATION!
You may deserve it but I don’t feel like I do!!!!
see racist like you need to die along with your racist bloodlines so others can live!!!!
Fire the football coach cancel season,thank Obama for this BS
No where in the news about the black on white crime in this school where, white students are beat and assaulted by the blacks in this school. If that the case the white students need to ban together, and watch each other`s back and when it happens gang up on the black perp`s ans do to them whats being done to them, they out number them. This would stop this black on white crime. See these whites kids have been raised, to be non violent and the black kids know it where the black are raised to defend them selves. White society has raised a nation of pansies.
They don’t want to quit the football team. I don’t think that the campus needs another
40 or so unemployed elevator operators wandering around the place.
I am so weary of ragheads and militant blacks dictating how my country should be run. I believe the football team should have been disbanded and scholarships yanked. As for the a=hole on hunger strike…let him starve. As for the students that missed classes due to sit in’s and demonstrations….make it up or flunk. This kind of crap didn’t exist, with minor exceptions, when I was young mainly because we were taught to respect our elders and proper authority. Respect seems to be a thing of the past
Why blame the university because a couple of racist drunks call you a name. Call them one back and get over it.
That’s what kids do. As for hiring more black staff; the town is 83% white and the college is too; so how many more do you need
to make yourself feel good.
RECRUIT more WHITE FOOTBALL PLAYERS! What are you saying, White People Can’t Play Football? That is a very RACIST viewpoint!
Maybe the first thing to consider is whether the harassment claims are valid. This would not be the first time a college campus has been overwhelmed by a charge which later turned out to not be true. Some people have no problem lying if it gets whatever result they desire.
When the guy who is on a hunger strike gets hungry enough he will eat. It may come in the form of sneaking a candy bar or bag of chips but he will eat.
If the football team wants to forfeit their game and deal with the financial repercussions, they should be allowed to do it. A loss of $1 million may mean next year’s team will not travel in as lush of accommodations as this year’s team has.
Do we really want to let our educational institutions be ruled by protestors who may have agendas not immediately apparent? I’m not familiar with Mizzou’s president or his leadership style. The university’s governing board should get to the bottom of this. Separating fact and fiction would be a good first step.
According to your disclaimer you don’t allow for a lot of things apparently you are more P.C. then you are willing to allow one to share an honest response to this article. I posted a comment but you didn’t allow. As long as we allow our Constitution to be trampled on by telling us what is not allowed due to our color and is allowed due to their color we will never have an equal rights community.
You summed it up. We will never have equal rights If any one should be screaming race, it would be The Jews.
Another fine case of the minority making demands that they must be the rulers.
When it comes to the blacks standing up for ourselves some of you people always try to act like something is wrong with that, let me tell you something now times have changed and you haven’t seen anything yet. I detest your p/cs and self righteous wanna be’s. Stick around and you will see that things are changing whether you like it or not.
Sounds like a threat to me!!!!!
See it for what it really is; IT IS A BLACK MOVEMENT.
A black BOWEL movement!
I fail to see how removal of the President of the University will improve anything. Trying to make an individual responsible for the words or actions of another is pysically impossible. Negative comments directed at anyone is nothing more than negative thinking on that persons part and has nothing to do with you unless you let it. Write all the rules or regulations you wish, you will not change some people. How about ignoring them, grow up and and behave like an adult. These actions of a few insecure cry babies are disrupting the entire student body. That’s not fair the young adults seeking an education!
to the student government president… hey clown, they’re just words, like say, you’re a lazy ass turd munching third rate clown who couldn’t get into any college without affirmative action… see, and no use of the dispicable “n” word… don’t need it to insult you if thats the intent… just words, and NOT ILLEGAL, in spite of what that muslim piece of shit in the white house tells you… and all the whining in the world won’t make you any less useless than you already are… just like that… they’re just words, and if you are distracted from your own path, your own accountability, because of them, then, hell maybe they’re accurate… rise above it, you in college not in a playground…
Does Grambling offer any scholarships to Mexican, Irish, Chinese or other ethnicities?
Main Street,
Excellent point !
Catholic , Jewish and secular colleges offer scholarships to folks based on race. Yet schools like Grambling primarily if not totally serve only students of one race.
The football team has a losing season going. They are probably looking for a reason to quit. Take their scholarships and give them to guys that are willing to contribute to a better season in the future.