Via Deadspin:
The University of Missouri’s Legion of Black Collegians released a statement tonight from the collective athletes of color on the Tigers football team stating they are on strike from football-related activities until the school president steps down in the wake of several racist acts on campus.
Many Missouri students believe school president Tim Wolfe has failed to act in response to several months’ worth of alleged racism on the Columbia campus—the most recent and controversial of which was a swastika of human feces found in a residence hall. The debate is mostly happening over on Facebook, where views both nuanced and not can be found under the #concernedstudent1950 hashtag.
A graduate student has also embarked on a hunger strike.
The coach supports the decision:
The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players. #ConcernedStudent1950 GP pic.twitter.com/fMHbPPTTKl
— Coach Gary Pinkel (@GaryPinkel) November 8, 2015
That seems like a big deal. And now the faculty is organizing a walk-out:
COLUMBIA — MU Faculty plan to walk out of class Monday and Tuesday in support of student activists.
[…]
“We, the concerned faculty of the University of Missouri, stand in solidarity with Mizzou student activists who are advocating for racial justice on our campus and urge all MU faculty to demonstrate their support by walking out on Monday, Nov. 9, and Tuesday, Nov. 10,” the statement, sent out by Associate Professor Elisa Glick, said.
“Faculty will meet at the Carnahan Quadrangle starting at 10 a.m. and will be present throughout the day to respond to student questions in the form of a teach in,” the statement said.
I’m interested in seeing how this works out.
Now let’s talk about the School President, Tim Wolfe. First, watch the video below.
saw this last night but didn’t have context. the system president. presented without comment. pic.twitter.com/KVGvf30vQp
— El Flaco (@bomani_jones) November 8, 2015
Hey, the guy did say he’d give an answer that he was sure the questioners would consider the wrong answer, and boy, did he. Tim Wolfe defines systematic oppression as: “Systematic oppression is that you don’t believe that you have the equal opportunity of success…” See? He warned everyone that he’d give the wrong answer! Love his word choice – believe. That pretty much sums up his views on this issue.
Yeah, I’m seeing a problem with this guy. He did release a statement:
It is clear to all of us that change is needed, and we appreciate the thoughtfulness and passion which have gone into the sharing of concerns. My administration has been meeting around the clock and has been doing a tremendous amount of reflection on how to address these complex matters.
Clearly, we are open to listening to all sides, and are confident that we can come together to improve the student experience on our campuses. We want to find the best way to get everyone around the table and create the safe space for a meaningful conversation that promotes change. We will share next steps as soon as they are confirmed.
In conjunction with campus representatives, the university began work on a systemwide diversity and inclusion strategy, plan and metrics for the University of Missouri System as part of my strategic goals (see 1.4.i of the System Strategic Plan) as approved by the Board of Curators in summer 2015.
Our due date for announcing the strategy was April 2016, having allowed for multiple stakeholders (e.g., faculty, staff, students, consultants) across the system to provide input into the plan.
The majority of items listed on the Concerned Student 1950 List of Demands were already included in the draft of the strategy. While the student list provides more detail and more specific metrics than had been established in the UM System plan, we had anticipated providing specificity and detail to the plan over the coming months.
In the meantime, I am dedicated to ongoing dialogue to address these very complex, societal issues as they affect our campus community.
First, his plan to address the racist incidents, that have been going on for months, is April 2016? What should students do in the meantime?
Second, take a look at this line in his statement: “Clearly, we are open to listening to all sides, and are confident that we can come together to improve the student experience on our campuses.” All sides? Is he going to listen to the side of the swastika of human feces artist? Is he going to listen to the side of the people who hurled racial slurs? What does that statement even mean? What is the other side?
Yeah, I’m thinking the School President needs to go. He’s obviously not up to the job.