Editor's note: The following letter does not reflect upon the overall opinion of The State News.
The University of Missouri in Columbia has been shaken off its foundation this past week, as Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, System President Timothy M. Wolfe, and other administrative staff have all declared resignation at the end of the year. All of which stem from racial complaints brought forward by African American student unions, including a much publicized boycott by the University Football team. Black students have expressed disdain for the hostile, racist atmosphere centered on their campus, with a record of inaction by school administration. The situation has attracted widespread media attraction, and recent developments suggest the racial divide at Missouri is only worsening as social media sites are flaring up with upsetting, though unsubstantiated threats of violence.
It is troubling that the situation has escalated so quickly in the way that it has. College should be the one place where anyone of any race or background can feel safe in an enriching environment. Allegations of a hostile racial divide on college campuses is nothing new in America, but is this the correct solution for the unique problems found in Missouri?
I can’t help but wonder if the circumstances surrounding the Missouri incidents truly is ground for removal of the administration. Senior and President of the Missouri Students Association Payton Head has cited personal instances that have troubled black students more recently, including a time when a group of young individuals yelled racial slurs at Head out the window of their truck. While this is rude and unacceptable behavior for any decent person, I am curious how, or if this incident could have been handled better by school officials. Should the school chancellor even be held accountable for the isolated obscenities remarked by the student body on their own accord?
Black students comprise roughly 7 percent of the student body at Mizzou, an admittedly low number considering the overall representation of 13 percent African Americans have in the general population. Nonetheless, it raises the question of how such an allegedly “racist” white majority could elect Head, a black man, to represent them as their President.
I believe the real reason for the resignations of the school officials came from pressure by the football boycott. With the approaching Brigham Young game, the school could not face losing the large amounts of revenue that would be accrued by a forfeit. Nonetheless these developments will likely be received as a positive sign by the student groups on campus, but what now? Should obscene language against racial groups be grounds for termination, in an environment that applauds the right to free speech? Should Missouri seek to hire more black teachers and staff to their programs, even if it stands in the way of better qualified candidates? It is the same dilemma faced time-and-time again with affirmative action programs and other initiatives aimed at bridging the racial divide in schools for decades. For now we can only ask: What in the world is happening at Mizzou?
Derek Hackett is a political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore and can be reached at hacket21@msu.edu.
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