Here's what led to the Mizzou student protests and the president's resignation
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
University of Missouri system president Tim Wolfe resigned Monday amid growing protests that he didn't adequately address a series of race-related incidents on campus. In recent days, the protests gained support from more than 30 football players, the student government, and a group of faculty members that had called for a walkout. Students, professors, and alumni say the recent protests are part of a much longer history of systemic racism at Mizzou:
Many black students have stories about being called the n-word by their white peers and other instances of racial discrimination inside and outside of the classroom, The Los Angeles Times reports. Junior Andrea Fulgiam told the Times that a professor once told her she was only attending Mizzou due to the university's affirmative action policy.
It was the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, that motivated campus activists to take action, according to Ayanna Poole, a founding member of the black student activist group Concerned Student 1950 (named for the year the school first admitted black students), which has spearheaded the calls for Wolfe's removal. The Ferguson shooting sparked waves of protests, which some Mizzou students drove two hours to attend in Ferguson. The student government's letter Monday specifically noted Ferguson as an issue the university was "silent" on.
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 Missourian, a student newspaper, outlined a "key escalation" of racial tension in recent months. In September and October, black students garnered attention for publicly describing different incidents of race-related harassment on campus. The movement started gaining ground quickly:
- Oct. 10: Concerned Student 1950 protests the homecoming parade by blocking Wolfe's car. Ten days later, they issued a list of demands, which included a call for the president's removal. A meeting between the activists and Wolfe didn't go anywhere.
- Nov 2: Graduate student Jonathan Butler begins a hunger strike: "Tim Wolfe is removed from office or my internal organs fail and my life is lost," he wrote in a letter to Mizzou system directors.
- Nov. 6: Wolfe apologizes for not acknowledging protesters during the parade and vows to help combat racism on campus.
- Nov. 7: More than 30 members of the football team announce their boycott of all games and practices until Wolfe leaves office, with their coaching staff and teammates later expressing their support.
- Nov. 8: Gov. Jay Nixon (D) calls on the university to address race-related concerns.
- Nov. 9: Wolfe resigns at an emergency meeting of the school's Board of Curators.
"Use my resignation to heal and start talking again," Wolfe said.
Head over to the Missourian for the full timeline of campus protests.
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.
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the deep of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
