Mizzou student government formally calls for president's removal amid racial tension


University of Missouri's student government formally called for the removal Monday of Tim Wolfe, the university system president, amid protests that he has not adequately addressed race-related incidents on campus, The Washington Post reports.
"The mental health, academic quality, and physical safety of our black students has been compromised time and time again," the group wrote in a letter to the University of Missouri System Board of Curators. "Now, the campus has grown so tumultuous that all of our students are unable to pursue the very reason they attend this institution."
The letter pointed to August 2014, when Michael Brown was fatally shot by a cop in Ferguson, Missouri, as the starting point of a worsening environment for students, suggesting the university met the shooting "with silence."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The student government's call for action followed a faculty-organized walkout called for Monday and Tuesday, a football boycott initiated by more than 30 players, and a graduate student's hunger strike. A student group started the protests in October, and Gov. Jay Nixon said Sunday the "concerns must be addressed."
Update 11:40 a.m.: Tim Wolfe has since resigned. "I take full responsibility for this frustration and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred," he said. "Use my resignation to heal and start talking again."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábgego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies
-
Canada's Liberals, Carney win national election
Speed Read The party of Prime Minister Mark Carney beat Conservative Pierre Poilievre thanks in part to Trump's trade war
-
Trump's 100-day approval ratings at historic low
Speed Read Americans appear to be wary of Trump's sweeping tariffs and handling of the economy
-
Judge blocks key part of Trump's elections overhaul
Speed Read Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision temporarily bars federal officials from requiring Americans to prove they are citizens to register to vote
-
Hegseth's chief of staff joins Pentagon exodus
Speed Read Joe Kasper has stepped down, leaving the Defense Secretary 'increasingly isolated'