M
THE MANEATER and
MOVE MAGAZINE
ONE YEAR LATER
An examination of how our campus has changed, how last year fits into our history and where our university is headed A lot can change in a year.
One year ago today, 11 student activists stood hand-in-hand on Traditions Plaza and addressed a crowd of over 500 students and faculty. Two highlevel administrators stepped down in a whirl of controversy amid building pressure from students. Members and supporters of student activist group Concerned Student 1950 started packing up their tents from the campsite they had occupied on Carnahan Quad for more than a week, and graduate student Jonathan Butler ended his eight-day hunger strike. The atmosphere of protests across campus shifted from disappointment to hope. That was Nov. 9, 2015, the culmination of a semester of racial tensions and campus unrest. One year later, five of Concerned Student 1950’s original eight demands have been met. This year’s freshman class was the first to attend mandatory diversity training at the start of the semester. The UM System found a new president.
Trump shocks the world, claims the presidency pg. 3
“If this is the power that can manifest in a year, imagine what we can do in our lifetime,” Concerned Student 1950 tweeted on Oct. 10, the one-year anniversary of the group’s formation. “Keep resisting! It is our duty!” But there’s still more to be done. When Payton Head, the Missouri Students Association president at the time, wrote a Facebook post last fall about his experience being called the N-word on campus, he reopened the dialogue about race at MU. But race relations had been a pertinent subject on campus long before then. After Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson in August 2014, students came together to form MU4MikeBrown, a social justice movement closely aligned with Black Lives Matter. In 1990, more than 150 students marched in the Homecoming parade in protest of racial injustices. In 1968, black students established the Legion of Black Collegians
The status of CS1950’s original demands pg. 5
after white students waved a Confederate flag at a football game. Before Jonathan Butler and Concerned Student 1950, there were the initial members of LBC and the students who continued fighting for inclusion in the years to come. Before them, there was Lucile Bluford. Before her, there was Lloyd Gaines. This isn’t the anniversary of a student movement. The movement has existed under different names with different students going back decades. This is the anniversary of these students being heard. There are still changes to be made and demands to be met. History repeated itself earlier this semester when LBC members were called racial slurs, almost a year after last time.
Inside the critical football boycott pg. 8
Change has been slow. But more recently, it’s been steady.
A timeline of major campus protests pg. 11
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Inside this Issue Standing in Solidarity
MO’ LEGISLATORS, MO’ PROBLEMS
Mizzou was only one of the colleges in the public eye because of race issues last year. Find out what’s happened since at other schools (pg. 13)
Find out who won the major races in the state on Tuesday night (pg. 4)
SPEAK NOW
Clear-Headed
A look at the legality of protest spaces around campus, beyond just Speakers Circle (pg. 6)
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The MANEATER FALL STAFF Want to work with us? themaneater.com/workforus
Former MSA President Payton Head is traveling the country sharing his stories (pg. 7)
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M THE MANEATER
The student voice of MU since 1955
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Vol. 83, Issue 12
NOV. 9, 2016
THE TRUMP CARD story by SARAH HALLAM and THEO DEROSA · photo by JORDAN KODNER
A
fter a long and unpredictable election season, Donald Trump has won the election to become the next president of the United States. At 1:30 a.m., the Associated Press called the election for Trump. His coalition was primarily comprised of white voters from various socioeconomic backgrounds, and he overcame long odds to pull off one of the biggest general-election upsets in U.S. history. Trump captured swing states Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, some of which were initially predicted to go to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The former Secretary of State had a significant and persistent national and state polling advantage leading up to Election Day. Trump has never held elected office in his life. As is typical for Republican candidates, he won big in rural areas, while urban centers tended to fall along blue lines.
In his acceptance speech, Trump spoke of unifying the country while also seeking common ground with other nations. “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me,” Trump said. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past — of which there were a few people — I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.” Together, he said, Americans will rebuild the country’s infrastructure and put millions to work while doing it. Trump promised to double the country’s economic growth. “America will no longer settle for anything less than the best,” Trump said. “We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We’re going to dream of things for our country, and beautiful things and successful things
once again.” In the aftermath of the long campaign season, students and faculty commented on what it will mean to be a woman living under a Trump presidency. “Donald Trump will govern like the previous Republican white male presidents,” Psychology professor Melanie Sheldon said. “I think American life became less fair to all when they were leading.” Feminist Student Union President Lydia Ghuman also expressed her concerns. “Trump has easily shown how he would be damaging to every single type of identity that a woman might hold,” Ghuman said. “I think what it means to women is that the symbol of all this oppression that they face on a very daily basis, like being groped by strangers or having sexist things said at them, now is going to be represented by our structural head of the United States. Our country will be embodying all of these sexist
values. I think he’d represent a lot of fear for a lot of women.” Francesca Boewe, a sophomore political science and communication major and a member of College Republicans, said that no matter what gender you are, a Trump presidency is the best thing for the country. “The perspective of ‘as a woman…’ when analyzing this election is irrelevant to me,” Boewe said. “Donald Trump as president of United States would be a great thing for women because it is the best choice for American citizens. His head campaign manager [Kellyanne Conway] is a woman and … that just goes to prove that he supports and believes that women are just as capable as men in any circumstance due to the fact he gave her the most important role in his campaign.” Edited by Emily Gallion egallion@themaneater.com
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How students could be affected by Trump’s presidency Donald Trump has previously called MU “disgraceful.” KATIE ROSSO AND MAGDALINE DUNCAN of The Maneater Staff In a campaign video on his website, Donald Trump said he is a “tremendous believer in education.” At a campaign stop in Cleveland, Trump said that there is no policy in need of urgent change more than our “government-run education monopoly.” In early October, Trump also told Chris Wallace, who is the host of “Fox News Sunday,” that he would possibly consider getting rid of the federal Department of Education as a whole. Regarding the University of Missouri specifically, Trump said on Nov. 12, 2015, that the protests and resignations were “disgusting.” When asked about former UM System President Tim Wolfe and former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, the administrators who resigned Nov. 9, 2015, Trump said that they were “weak, ineffective people.” “I think that when they resigned, they set something in motion that’s going to be a disaster for the next long period of time. They were weak, ineffective people,” Trump said. “Trump
should have been the chancellor of that university. Believe me, there would have been no resignations.” In a compilation by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators that addresses both presidential candidates’ stances on higher education, the organization curated Trump’s stance from statements from his campaign co-chair Sam Clovis and an Oct. 13 campaign speech. According to the NASFAA compilation, Trump called on institutions with large endowments to spend more on students in order to lower college costs. He also wants to address the risk that institutions take when distributing loans to potential students; institutions would take into account a student’s future income. For instance, Clovis said, institutions should be careful lending to liberal arts majors who have lower job security after graduation. Trump would also take students’ future incomes into account by implementing an income contingent repayment plan. Borrowers would make payments capped at 12 percent of their income, and debt would be canceled after 15 years.
Trump is against tuition-free higher education and President Barack Obama’s proposal for free community college for high school graduates. He would continue to reduce the government’s role in higher education by transitioning the role of lending toward private banks. The larger, 58-page platform of the Republican Party lays out a plan to end the federal direct student loan program. The party added that it wants to restore greater “private sector participation in student financing.” Another issue that may affect MU students is the Republican Party’s stance on campus sexual assault. The party’s platform says Obama has micromanaged how colleges and universities would choose to deal with sexual assault. The platform says the reports should be dealt with by only law enforcement, not university officials. Late in the campaign, Trump came under fire for a video, originally released in 2005, that included audio where Trump boasted about kissing and groping women without their consent. Last spring, MU began to implement new signs for single-stall bathrooms and showers in older residence halls that
read “Women” and “Men.” The signs have now been changed to read “Toilet” or “Toilet and Shower” accordingly, so people can use the restroom that fits with their gender identity. The platform advises against this, saying the policy of allowing transgender students to use the restroom that matches with their gender identity is “illegal, dangerous and ignores privacy issues.” MU students who are undocumented immigrants, or their families, could also be affected by Trump’s proposed immigration policies. Trump has said that he would be “very, very tough on the borders” and proposed a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. “I would be not allowing certain people to come into this country without absolute perfect documentation,” Trump said at a rally in March. Trump has also emphasized that he will make the borders “impenetrable,” and has said that he will increase the power of border patrol agents and police. His plan includes deporting 11 million immigrants. Edited by Emily Gallion egallion@themaneater.com
the maneater daily
local election roundup U.S. Senator roy blunt: Blunt has been re-elected for his second term as senator. Blunt spent 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and six years in the U.S. Senate. He is the incumbent in this election. Before he served in Congress, he, like Kander, was elected to be the Missouri secretary of state from 1985-1992. Blunt’s campaign focused on the need for more and better jobs and the elimination of the Affordable Care Act. His win is part of a shift to from Democrats to GOP in state offices. Blunt said in his acceptance speech: “Never in the history of this state have we re-elected majorities in the Missouri General Assembly, the House and the Senate, re-elected a senator and elected five statewide Republican officials.”
amendment 6: Amendment Passed — The new amendment allows for photo ID laws. With the passage of this amendment, it is legal for Missouri residents to be asked to present photo identification when going to vote. The Missouri Secretary of State has said the rule would affect approximately 250,000 voters, according to the Columbia Missourian. The amendment passed with 64.8 percent of the vote. Supporters believed that the amendment would prevent voter fraud. Critics opposed the amendment because they believed that it would be difficult for some people to get IDs and that there were too few voter fraud cases for the amendment to actually be relevant.
Governor Eric greitens: Greitens is a former Navy SEAL and a Rhodes Scholar, andthis is the first political office he has held. Greitens used to be a Democrat and appeared at one point on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” to discuss his veterans’ charity work but then became a Republican. Greitens has said he wants to enact a right-to-work law barring mandatory union fees and describes himself as anti-abortion and a gun-rights supporter. Greitens will follow Gov. Jay Nixon, a democrat who hit his term limit. Greitens said in his acceptance speech: “Tonight begins a new generation of conservative leadership here in Missouri. Tonight, we did more than win an election – we restored power to the people and we took our state back.”
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ONE YEAR LATER
MU has met over half of Concerned Student 1950’s demands from fall 2015 The university has recently taken steps toward hiring more mental health professionals and faculty of color. SAMUEL FORBES Reporter Over a year ago, student activist collective Concerned Student 1950 published its original list of eight demands to further racial equality on campus. The university has since met five of them. However, in recent months, officials have announced new measures that satisfy certain demands made by the group, including plans to hire more faculty of color and diversity course requirements for incoming students. In an online presentation dated Feb. 24, 2016, CS1950 published an updated version of its list. The new version left out the first and second demands calling for former UM System President Tim Wolfe’s resignation and a handwritten apology letter acknowledging his white male privilege, but it included calls to meet demands eight and nine from the Legion of Black Collegians’ 1969 list of demands. These demands, which requested an academic bankruptcy program and hiring panel for an Office of Minority Students, have not been addressed by the university. According to the presentation, the deadline for these demands was August 2016. In addition, the demand for a “strategic 10-year plan” to increase minority student retention rates has not been implemented by Academic Retention Services, nor have plans been made to expand the Gaines/Oldham
Members of Concerned Student 1950 in a “We’re Not Afraid” march in November 2015. JESSI DODGE | PHOTO EDITOR meet face-to-face, you would already know the answers to most of the issues raised in your recent communication,” Henson wrote. “As many other concerned students already know, much of what can be done to transform our culture is already underway.” Henson stepped down from his post as vice chancellor this fall and was replaced by Kevin McDonald. This
“WE WANTED TO SAY, WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE’RE COMMUNICATING. IT’S IMPORTANT FOR US. IT’S DEFINITELY IMPORTANT FOR MIZZOU.” — STEPHANIE SHONEKAN, CHAIRWOMAN OF BLACK STUDIES DEPARTMENT Black Culture Center or build a statue of Lloyd Gaines in the center of Carnahan Quadrangle. In February, just a few weeks after the updated demands were made public, Chuck Henson, former interim vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity and equity, released a letter reprimanding CS1950 for what he considered to be “threats and arbitrary deadlines.” “Had you accepted my invitation to
September, McDonald and UM System leaders held a “media day” to address the 2015 protests and outlined their plans for achieving greater diversity on campus. “This was designed to provide you with an update on where we are today, what we have done over the past several months to address the issues that arose back in November and that we are moving forward,” interim UM System
President Mike Middleton said during the conference. McDonald announced that $1.3 million will be set aside for the recruitment and retention of minority faculty members, with an ultimate end goal of 13.4 percent faculty of color. If successful, this initiative will exceed CS1950’s demand for 10 percent faculty of color. In addition, he stated that the Counseling Center has hired two new psychologists and two interns of color, as well as Dr. Nadia Bethley to serve as the center’s first diversity coordinator. These efforts do not entirely fulfill CS1950’s demand for one psychologist per every 1,500 students, which would mean 14 new psychologists based on last year’s enrollment data, by June 2016. Finally, leaders at the conference lauded various colleges and schools for recently launching diversity course requirements, including programs in the School of Journalism, College of Education, College of Nursing, College of Arts and Sciences, and the Truman School of Public Affairs. Such requirements, along with the Citizenship@Mizzou diversity session that was mandatory starting with the Class of 2020, addressed CS1950’s calls for “comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum” overseen by
students and faculty of color. Dr. Stephanie Shonekan, chairwoman of the Department of Black Studies and professor of ethnomusicology, led the Citizenship@Mizzou sessions in an effort to start a dialogue on diversity between students and faculty. “We wanted to say we know what happened last year, and we wanted to make sure we’re communicating,” Shonekan said in an interview with The Maneater. “It’s important for us. It’s definitely important for Mizzou.” Despite no clear resolution to the remaining three demands, CS1950 expressed optimism in tweets posted on Oct. 10, the one-year anniversary of the group’s formation. “In 1 yr, an issuing of 8 demands #BoycottMU campaign, a #mizzouhungerstrike, a football team who was bout it, multiple meetings, town halls many more demonstrations, and one year later 5 of our demands have been met,” the group wrote. “If this is the power that can manifest in a year, imagine what we can do in our lifetime. Keep resisting! It is our duty!” Edited by Emily Gallion egallion@themaneater.com
For more coverage of campus one year later, check out our online special report at TheManeater.com.
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The Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Protests, Public Spaces, Free Speech, and the Press was appointed by the interim chancellor and Faculty Council to make recommendations for how to regulate public spaces and how MU can diffuse future conflicts involving public spaces on campus. As part of these recommendations, a draft report was submitted regarding how public spaces on campus can be used.
outdoor areas that may be used for events and activities if reserved and approved in advance:
places to protest
areas available for reservation by MU and non-MU groups for events or activities at least 24 hours in advance:
-Stankowski Field -The green space surrounding the Residence on the Quad
-Francis Quadrangle
-Areas managed by the University of Missouri Athletics Department
-Traditions Plaza
-Hinkson Recreational Playing Fields
-Carnahan Quadrangle -McAlester Park (also known as Peace Park)
-Epple Field (fields south of Green Tennis Center)
-Lowry Mall
-Parking lots during time periods when parking permits are not required
-Dairy Lawn
-The green spaces adjacent to residence halls
-Kuhlman Court -Plaza south of Jesse Hall -Walsworth Plaza
REFLECTING on RESIGNATIONs
After the resignations of last fall, the word “interim” became used a lot more frequently. But there are more interims than just UM System president and MU chancellor. Here’s a look at all of the resignations of the past year and which positions still need to be permanently filled. Note: Not all resignations and retirements are necessarily tied to the events of Fall 2015. Many are from before Fall 2015 or unrelated to the reasons why former UM System President Tim Wolfe and former MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin resigned.
UM SYSTEM PRESIDENT:
mu chancellor:
athletics director:
tim wolfe
R. BOWEN LOFTIN
mack rhoades
Resigned: Nov. 9, 2015 Interim: Mike Middleton
Resigned: nov. 9, 2016 Interim: HANK FOLEY
Resigned: july 13, 2016 replaced by: jim sterk
BOARD OF CURATORS:
ANN COVINGTON Resigned: Nov. 19, 2015 Interim: MARY E. NELSON
YVONNE SPARKS
DAVID STEWARD
Resigned: JAN. 27, 2016 Interim: THOMAS R. VOSS
Resigned: feb. 1, 2016 Interim: JON T. SUNDVOLD
VICE CHANCELLORS: Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Chuck Henson
Resigned: MAY 2016 Interim: Kevin McDonald
OTHERS:
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DEANS RESIGNED
SINCE AUGUST 22, 2015
Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications
Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
Hal Williamson
Resigned: Feb. 19, 2016 Position currently vacant
-Arts and Sciences Dean -CAFNR Dean -School of Law Dean -School of Medicine Dean
Ellen de Graffenreid Resigned: Nov. 20, 2015 Interim : Jennifer Hollingshead
-College of Education Dean -College of Engineering interim Dean -College of Business Dean -human environmental sciences Dean
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ONE YEAR LATER
Payton Head reflects on time at MU and being a national advocate for student issues Head: “But most important, you are powerful. What unites us all across our differences is that we are Mizzou made.” LAILAH TARAKAI AND EMILY GALLION of The Maneater Staff Last year, former MSA President Payton Head was called the N-word while walking through campus. His response, a Facebook post that went viral, was one of the starting points for a movement. “It started as a hurt for me, but then it became a hurt for my school, because what kind of legacy am I leaving if I don’t talk about these issues?” Head said in an interview with The Maneater at the time. “I love my school. This place is my home, but I want my home to be better.” Head used his position as Missouri Students Association president to speak out on issues of racial equality on campus. The events and the administration’s response to them prompted the first Racism Lives Here protest, the precursor to the formation of Concerned Student 1950. Head graduated from MU at the end of spring semester last year. In lieu of an interview, he wrote a letter to The Maneater on Sunday that began, “Hey Mizzou Family.” Head explained what he’s been doing in the months since he graduated MU. While writing it, he was on the bus to Columbia Law School in New York City to tell MU’s story. “Every single day I’m working to be better than I was before,” Head wrote. “I’m currently traveling the nation and speaking on how you all have changed the world.” Head, who lives in Washington, D.C., with his sister, just finished a fellowship at the National Campus Leadership Council. Through the organization, he worked with college student body presidents throughout the country on mental health, sexual assault prevention, college affordability and inclusion issues. He has also worked with the White House and the U.S. Department of Education in regards to campus inclusion strategies. Head’s goal is to “help [national authorities] learn the importance of listening to student voices.” “And trust me,” he wrote, “they are listening.” Although he said life seems like a dream on his social media, Head wrote that he understands people are still struggling. He’s flooded with student debt and is still fighting the depression and anxiety he developed last fall while MU was in the national spotlight. Despite these drawbacks, he still works
hard, noting that everyone is human and makes mistakes, but “what matters most is how we move forward.” “ We get up, take accountability for our actions, dust ourselves off and strive to be better than we were the day before,” Head wrote. Head wrote about what he personally learned from being MSA president. He emphasized that the power of MU isn’t just in the curriculum but in the people that make up the MU community. These people include faculty, staff and, what he deemed most important, students. “You are unique, you are diverse — coming from all over Missouri, this nation and this world,” he wrote. “But most important, you are powerful. What unites us all across our differences is that we are Mizzou made.” He said he wants to encourage the students here at MU. When he came to MU, he claims he felt something magical, but only after graduating did he figure it out: “We are trailblazers.” Head currently travels the nation speaking about MU’s story. He said he is able to do this because people are inspired by MU and the progress the university has made to change. Head had a story he wanted to tell, and that is why he ran for MSA president. He learned from his campaign that people with a story will be heard as long as they are willing to tell it. “I learned this when I was told that I would never be MSA president because I didn’t fit the norm,” Head wrote. “I wasn’t white, Greek, a Missourian, or straight. You all proved that wrong when you went to the polls and elected Brenda [Smith-Lezama] and I with the highest voter turnout in MU history.” The magic he felt was in the power of the MU family and community: The power they have is in their voices and their actions. “Your power is unmatched,” he wrote. While this power does exist within the community and individuals, the most important lesson Head says he learned from being a Tiger was how to love himself. He says this power that people have cannot be used if self-love doesn’t exist. “Once you love and accept yourself for who you are exactly as you are, know that no one can ever take that away from you,” he wrote. “You can take on the world unapologetically and empower others to the same.” That is what Head is doing
TOP: Former MSA President Payton Head speaks to an audience Jan. 31, 2015, after being formally sworn in at the inauguration event. BOTTOM: Head observes a Racism Lives Here rally in Speakers Circle in September 2015. MANEATER FILE PHOTOS
now. He is speaking at various campuses and encouraging others to take on the world and change their campus’ climate. In a message to MU students, Head encouraged students to focus on their studies but learn to love and support themselves and others. “That is how Mizzou has moved forward in the past, and that is how it will move forward to be even better in the future,” he wrote. Edited by David Reynolds
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on social media It was not a reporter who broke the news that the Missouri football team would boycott until former UM System President Tim Wolfe resigned. Instead, it was a tweet from defensive back Anthony Sherrils. Throughout last year’s historic fall, social media was an essential tool in dispensing information. Sherrils’ tweet went viral, and activists sent messages out via Twitter and Facebook.
Missouri football players gathered to release a statement on Tim Wolfe’s resignation and the conclusion of their boycott on Nov. 9, 2015, at the tent camp constructed on Carnahan Quad. MANEATER FILE PHOTO
Ian Simon
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ONE YEAR LATER
ATHLETICS AND ACTIVISM Looking back on a historic football boycott Defensive lineman Marcell Frazier: “I thought I was just coming to college to play football and get an education. And all of that good stuff happened and opened up my network a lot as far as people outside of football, people outside the academic world, people in the social progress world.” PETER BAUGH Sports Editor As a freshman football player living in South Hall, Ian Simon often walked through Greektown on his way to class. The year was 2011, and he was an 18-year-old from Texas adjusting to a new home, college classes and Division I athletics. One day, as he made his way through the rows of fraternity and sorority houses, he saw a group of male students standing outside their house. They shouted racial slurs at him. Simon kept walking. It wasn’t the first time he was called the N-word, and it wasn’t the last. “It’s part of being black in America,” he said in a conversation with The Maneater in October. “It’s going to happen to you at some point or another.” After taking a redshirt season in 2011, Simon went on to have a prolific career at Missouri. He played in two Southeastern Conference Championship games, tallied 156 career tackles and was named a team captain his senior year. But Simon’s biggest impact on the Missouri football program might have been off the field. In November 2015, he helped orchestrate a football team boycott that garnered national
attention. The boycott came after racial tensions on campus caused graduate student Jonathan Butler to go on a hunger strike demanding former UM System President Tim Wolfe’s resignation. Members of the football team responded with a photo. The picture, which was tweeted by defensive back Anthony Sherrils, showed more than 30 black football players locking arms with Butler. “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’ experiences,” Sherrils said in the tweet. Two days later, Wolfe resigned. Simon is now a custom suit salesman in Arlington, Texas, and no longer plays football. Throughout the past year, he’s been able to look at the events of last fall with more clarity. “I gained a huge appreciation for everything the strike put me through, because it made me be more proud of who I am,” he said. “[It made me] want to go forth and set a good example for others to follow.” Though he is 12 months and 600 miles from last fall’s boycott, his passion for both his school and racial equality has not wavered. “I love Mizzou with all my heart,” he
said. “M-I-Z till I D-I-E. No doubt … it’s definitely a place that, if I’m blessed enough to have kids someday, I would want them to go. But I don’t want my kids to have to play a sport to go to college. And if they do go, I don’t want to see them have to go to a school where they would be subject to this.” Being a black athlete on campus Simon constantly noticed the looks people would give him. He would be walking with a hoodie on, and students would cross to the other side of the street. Sometimes he saw people clutching their bags a little tighter when he was nearby. Some would stare at him when he entered a building. “People don’t recognize you when you get that helmet off,” he said. “All they see is the name and the number. And when someone does recognize me … then everybody kind of lets down their guard. Now I’m acceptable to them.” For Simon, subtle actions on campus spoke volumes. Doctoral student Reuben Faloughi can relate. He was involved with activist group Concerned Student 1950 last fall, and he played SEC football at Georgia before coming to Missouri for graduate school. While playing for the Bulldogs, Faloughi remembers being treated like a
celebrity on game days. Police escorted the players through traffic. Fans asked him to kiss their babies. But the other six days of the week offered a stark contrast to Saturdays in Athens. “Everybody wants to hang out with the athlete when you go out after the games,” Faloughi said. “But when they don’t think that you’re part of the football team, they won’t let you in the bar.” While playing for Missouri, Simon found he had to change his demeanor on campus. Unless people knew he donned the black and gold Tigers uniform on Saturdays, he was forced to actively try to appear unthreatening. He made conscious efforts to smile when he walked into buildings, and he avoided wearing the hoods on his jackets. “You just kind of accept that’s the way it is,” he said. “It’s been happening to black people for so long in this country that you just don’t talk about it anymore. You just accept it, acknowledge it and move on with your life. Because if you get upset about every little thing, it would eat you alive.” Defensive lineman Marcell Frazier was raised in Oregon and came to Missouri from a junior college in California.
CONTINUED ON PG. 10
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Safety Anthony Sherrils runs with the ball after an interception Sept. 19, 2015, during a game against Connecticut at Faurot Field. MANEATER FILE PHOTO Since arriving in Columbia, the redshirt junior has noticed his new home is more conservative than the West. Though Frazier has heard “questionable stuff ” on campus, he said it is hard to determine what is racism and what is freedom of speech. Unlike Simon, Frazier has not felt any racism directed at him in Columbia. Still, he realizes he doesn’t know what other students have experienced. “I wouldn’t say I’ve [ever experienced] overt racism, but that may have to do with me being a 6-foot-5 football player that weighs 260 pounds,” Frazier said. “So I can’t speak for the little black girl walking at night, walking to her dorm and she’s only 5-foot, 110 pounds.” Growing up in Texas, Simon remembers hearing horror stories from his family about racism in the South. His hometown was accepting, though, and he did not feel out of place until he came to Columbia. “I wasn’t a kid anymore when I got to Missouri,” he said. “I was an 18-year-old young black man, and that scared the shit out of some people.” Taking action On the evening of Oct. 26, 2015, over 300 people gathered in a suite above Faurot Field. Male student-athletes, Mizzou Athletics staffers and administrators crammed into rows of chairs to listen to a panel on race facilitated by assistant professor Ty-Ron Douglas. The meeting was a part of the Men for Men program, a Mizzou Athletics initiative to support and promote social responsibility. Faloughi was invited to the meeting and was impressed by the environment Douglas created. “It was a space for athletes to open up and be real,” Faloughi said. “But then you also saw the pain, the pain that they had never got a chance to really process with anybody.” Seven days later, Butler announced his hunger strike. Four days after that, the football team began its boycott. Race was at the center of campus conversation. Though Simon said the Men for Men gathering was not a catalyst for the football boycott, the aftermath of the strike made him reflect back on the meeting. He said it was powerful and real. On Nov. 7, 2015, Faloughi remembers receiving word that Concerned Student 1950 would be meeting with a group of
football players. Although he already had plans during the day, Faloughi cleared his schedule. “I knew that this was going to be an important meeting,” he said. Members of Concerned Student 1950 and the group of football players met at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. Faloughi said it was a productive meeting — both groups were on the same page. Simon could not remember whose idea the boycott was, but the team decided it would be the most effective way to spark change. “I forget who suggested it initially,” he said. “That was the most radical idea and obviously would get the most attention.” Simon, Sherrils, Charles Harris and J’Mon Moore emerged as the leaders of the football boycott. Sherrils’ initial tweet got over 3,000 retweets, and the nation turned its attention towards Missouri. The players were true to their word. They did not practice until after Wolfe resigned on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. “When I think about it now, it’s crazy that it still happened,” running back Ish Witter said. “But that’s in the past. It was definitely a history-changer.” Reactions from the community Simon remembers the moment he knew that offensive lineman Connor McGovern would be his “brother for life.” The day was Nov. 7, 2015, and Simon had called as many players as possible to tell them about the boycott. Some were open to the idea, while others were more dismissive. After Simon’s phone calls, the team gathered in the Mizzou Athletics Training Complex to discuss the boycott. At the meeting, McGovern, who is white, stood up. “Look, we can’t win without y’all anyway,” McGovern said, according to Simon. The joke lightened the mood. The team laughed, and McGovern continued. “I’ve never been black, and I never will be black,” he said. “And I don’t understand. But I understand it’s something that y’all have to do.” To Simon, the simple statement spoke volumes about McGovern’s character. “To me, that was enough,” he said. “That shows a willingness to be understanding … I know now until the day I die, I can call Connor for help if I need it, or he can call me for help if he needs it. I know I’ve got Connor in my corner.” Simon feels McGovern’s statement
helped make some members of the team feel more open to the boycott. Redshirt sophomore Paul Adams also remembers McGovern, who now plays in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, addressing the team. He felt it was a moment that helped unify the group of players as the family they strive to be. “I think it was huge,” he said. “It was kind of eye-opening for me, especially just to see and hear everything that was going on in that time period and seeing who was stepping up and whatnot.” But not everyone was as open to the boycott as McGovern. Simon remembers some of his teammates responding with doubt and anger. He found these reactions hurtful. “There was some tension there that lingered,” he said. “I understand it, because we made a huge decision without their consent. … They were upset they didn’t have a say in it, but it wasn’t their place to have a say in it.” Some words from Simon’s former teammates also stung. When he came to Missouri from Texas, Simon knew very few people on the team. A number of veteran players took him under their wing. When Simon heard criticism from some of those mentors, it was shocking. “Hearing their perspective and hearing their views actually hurt,” he said. The public backlash, on the other hand, did not bother Simon as much. He and his teammates knew what they were getting into with the boycott, and they expected widespread criticism. Simon said it was crazy to hear political figures call for the removal of the team’s scholarships. Still, it represented an important step for the movement. “When you get into politics, that’s where change happens,” Simon said. “Every change that black America has made through the years has been through politics. You have to reach the lawmakers.” Impact and institutions Faloughi sees sports as a business. And in that business, he says athletes get the short end of the stick. Sure, they are given scholarships to be student-athletes. But everything comes second to their sport. The focus on life after athletics is limited, and Faloughi feels this is problematic. “Particularly in the climate we’re in with the state-sanctioned violence and the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s key for black athletes to be in tune with what’s going on,” he said. “And that’s not how they’re being engaged. Athletic departments aren’t engaging
their athletes on these issues. And so athletes are getting exposed to it on their own.” To Faloughi, it seems that athletes are exploited. But when they realize how much institutions rely on them, they can spark change. Simon and the Missouri football players saw their power as studentathletes. Football has a broad platform — Colin Kaepernick’s protests during the national anthem have re-launched a nationwide discussion on racial tensions — and Missouri football players used their sport to address the issues they saw on campus. “It’s part of American society; it’s woven in our fiber,” Simon said. “If you’re going to confront an issue that you want changed, why not put it out there in as many people’s face as possible?” Frazier remembers Simon being strategic throughout the boycott. He made plans but never made himself the center of attention. In Frazier’s mind, Ian Simon did things bigger than football. “Ian probably changed a lot of our lives indirectly as far as within the black community,” Frazier said. For Frazier, that meant finding connections he never knew he had. He met members of the NAACP, as well as other activists, because of the football boycott. “I thought I was just coming to college to play football and get an education,” he said. “And all of that good stuff happened and opened up my network a lot as far as people outside of football, people outside the academic world, people in the social progress world.” Faloughi feels college athletes can become isolated from everyday students. When so much time and energy are spent on a sport, it is hard to get a sense of the campus climate. Students see athletes as only athletes, and their other identities aren’t taken into account. That’s one reason Faloughi felt the boycott was so powerful: Football players were able to connect with other students on campus. “I think a lot of times, people on campus, even black students — definitely black students — they think athletes are just here to play football, and they’re just these tough guys who don’t experience stress or emotion,” Faloughi said. “And what you would see in those interactions was that stigma diminish. Because these athletes have real lives and they feel the same pressure and stress that we feel, and it’s important. And they matter.” Edited by Theo DeRosa tderosa@themaneater.com
Doctoral student Reuben Faloughi stands in the Student Center in November 2015. MANEATER FILE PHOTO
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ONE YEAR LATER
History
Protests at Mizzou
MARCH, 1929: Hundreds of students were given a questionnaire about sex and family by psychology professors. The questionnaire was investigated. Ultimately, the Board of Curators fired professor Harmon DeGraff and suspended professor Max Meyers for one year. Students threatened to boycott businesses downtown that supported the board’s decision, and messages supporting “free thought” appeared on sidewalks. APRIL 17, 1967: About 1,000 students and faculty gathered in front of the Boone County Courthouse for a “chalk-in” to protest the sentencing of the two MU students for writing on a sidewalk in chalk in front of Memorial Union.
FEB. 12, 1969: Members of the MU chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, a left-wing student activist group, were told by campus officials to stop distributing literature about their cause and selling a newspaper some of their members were a part of, Free Press Underground. Campus police eventually ordered them to leave university grounds. Later that week, SDS sold the newspaper on a nearby public sidewalk, and county sheriffs arrested four members. Two weeks later, over 2,500 students gathered peacefully in Jesse Hall in support of free speech. Many faculty voiced their support for the students. MARCH 26, 1969: Journalism graduate student Barbara Papish was expelled for promoting “indecent speech” by selling copies of Free Press Underground that featured a graphic front-page cartoon with an inside headline that read, “Motherf---er Acquitted.” Papish sued, and in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that MU violated Papish’s First Amendment rights.
On the one-year anniversary of the UM System President Tim Wolfe and MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin’s resignations, a look back at student activism through the years.
1970 1929 1967 1978 1969 1987
1990
1995 2003 2014
2015
MAY 1970: For about two weeks following the Kent State shootings, students protested the Vietnam War. For multiple days, between 1,000 and 2,000 students gathered on Rollins Field (now Stankowski Field). Two Molotov cocktails were thrown into Crowder Hall, the ROTC building and caused minor damage. Professors voted to cancel classes for the next two days. On the last day of the protests, 4,000 students crowded onto Rollins Field to listen to professor Bill Wickersham and other protest leaders before approving a joint statement on campus problems. Wickersham later lost his job, and six other professors had their pay docked for canceling classes. The state legislature did not increase appropriations for the first time since WWII. APRIL 21, 1978: Over 200 Gay Liberation members and their supporters marched to their first meeting following a U.S. District Court ruling in early April ordering MU to allow them to hold meetings on campus. During the group’s march, about 100 men harassed the group, throwing pieces of pipe at them and verbally heckling them. FEB. 6, 1987: Forty-one protesters were arrested on charges of trespassing while attempting to rebuild a shantytown on Francis Quadrangle that had been dismantled by police for the third time in three hours. Since October 1986, shantytowns had been built and torn down on Francis Quadrangle in protest of MU’s $127.5 million investment in companies doing business in South Africa. The board voted to fully divest funds in December. OCT. 20, 1990: Over 150 students marched in protest of racial injustices during the Homecoming parade, and the “MU black community boycotted all 1990 Homecoming events,” according to a Maneater story about the demonstration. The Legion of Black Collegians later met with Alumni Center representatives to discuss racial problems. This followed a Bid Day incident where Alpha Tau Omega members attacked black male students. Consequently, the national office suspended ATO for a year. APRIL 19, 1995: Four Directions, MU’s Native American student organization, led protests on Lowry Mall for the repatriation of 1,600 Native American remains that were stored at MU. In December, a committee concluded that the remains should be repatriated, and the remains were eventually returned to the Native American tribes that requested them. MARCH 2003: Various pre-emptive protests were staged in Speakers Circle against the Iraq War before troops were sent overseas.
DEC. 3, 2014: A movement to raise awareness about prejudice of African Americans, MU4MikeBrown, held a demonstration protesting a grand jury’s decision to not indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in 18-year-old Michael Brown’s death. Hundreds of students attended the demonstration, which featured a four-and-a-half-minute “die-in” to represent the four and a half hours Brown lay in the street after Wilson shot him. In the months before and after, MU4MikeBrown also held other demonstrations. OCTOBER TO NOVEMBER 2015: Activist group Concerned Student 1950 demonstrated throughout fall 2015 for change in response to racist incidents on campus. The group demanded that UM System President Tim Wolfe resign. Graduate student Jonathan Butler began a hunger strike, and the football team boycotted practice until Wolfe resigned. On Nov. 9, Wolfe resigned, and MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin resigned the same day.
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Loftin says change at MU will take time Former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin: “If we do something which is too hurried and too shallow, it becomes something that won’t be sustainable.” SYLVIA MAEHR Staff Writer Former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said his “awakening” happened in December 2014. “I went to a forum over here that we called together right after the Ferguson verdict was announced,” Loftin said. “That was my first time to really hear the stories from people’s hearts. I went there thinking we were going to talk about Ferguson, and that didn’t last long at all … within five minutes we were talking about other things; talking about not Ferguson, but Mizzou. And we had one student after the other standing up and talking about their own experiences here.” After that, Loftin said he began to realize the seriousness of the racial problems on campus. He went through a “deep selfexamination,” which helped him address his own biases. Then, the fall 2015 protests began. During that time, Loftin had conversations with various student groups, including Concerned Student 1950, and attended meetings to help address problems on campus. After speaking with former UM System President Tim Wolfe, some MU deans and members of the Board of Curators, it became clear that resignation was the next step for him to take. “It wasn’t an easy decision, obviously,” he said. “But it’s one of those things that after awhile you realize you have to make a very clear separation.” Loftin realizes that his resignation might not have changed anything on campus. He said he told Concerned Student 1950 that their list of demands calling for institutional change would take time. “I said, ‘These are not things that we can do quickly,’” Loftin
said. “‘I fully support them. I think we should do them. We should get to a different level of a mixture of our faculty and student body here, but it will not happen quickly.’” Loftin believes relying on short-term changes would only address superficial issues. “If we do something which is too hurried and too shallow, it becomes something that won’t be sustainable,” he said. “It will be a veneer that peels off after a while, and then we’re worse off than when we started. So, the idea was to build systemic change. That was an ongoing conversation we were having all throughout 2015.” He believes rural tensions come from how some students at MU grew up. Many came from small towns with little diversity. Loftin, who grew up in the segregated South, said that the generational differences in beliefs make changing the campus climate especially difficult. “And therein lies the problem: Will the students who are affected by this be that patient?” he asked. “I don’t know the answer to that. I’ve talked to so many of them, and some of them are patient, and some of them aren’t patient.” He said it is normal for students who come to MU to expect to see change within their four years at the university. But for any change to happen, Loftin believes it requires many on campus to go through the same process he did in 2014. “That’s what we need more of: people to do that selfexamination and self-reflection and really make an effort to try to change how you live your life so it won’t lead you, even unconsciously, down the wrong pathway,” Loftin said. Edited by Kyra Haas khaas@themaneater.com
Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin speaks at a media conference Feb. 14, 2014, in Jesse Hall. MANEATER FILE PHOTO
Former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin speaks during an interview for The Maneater in the fall of 2015 on the porch of the Residence on the Quad. MANEATER FILE PHOTO
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ONE YEAR LATER
Other universities take steps to improve inclusion The protests here created a wave of protests at college campuses across the country last year. HANNAH SIMON Staff Writer MU sparked a surge of student protests over racial tensions on campuses throughout the nation last November. A year later, these universities have made strides to improve the atmosphere of their campuses. Yale University As a result of some Yale University students who wore blackface for Halloween in 2007, Yale’s Intercultural Affairs Committee sent an email last October reminding students to be sensitive and respectful of others in their Halloween costumes. In response, Erika Christakis, a lecturer at Yale and an administrator of Silliman College, one of Yale’s 12 residential colleges, sent out an email that sparked a controversy. Christakis encouraged students to dress as they wish for Halloween, culturally insensitive or not, and for those offended to “look away.” This email outraged students who saw Christakis’ message as undermining the importance of racial and cultural sensitivity. In addition to the outcry over this email, fraternity house Sigma Alpha Epsilon sparked dissent after news got out that they obstructed black females from entering a party. To complete this string of events, students called for Yale to change the name of its Calhoun College—named after 19th century politician and white supremacist, John C. Calhoun. Since these incidents, Christakis has resigned from her position. Her husband, then-master of Silliman College, took a year sabbatical. Following the email incident, students made a list of demands, which the college responded to in launching a $50 million initiative to build a more diverse faculty. In regards to SAE, the fraternity disassociated itself from the national chapter and now goes by “Leo.” This rebranding happened only a few months after Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway’s barred Yale’s chapter of SAE from campus and forbade the frat from
Students at the University of North Carolina demonstrating in solidarity with MU in fall 2016. COURTESY OF BRIANNA LADD
using the SAE name in association with the university. In response to the calls to change the name of Calhoun College, Yale decided to keep the name and instead ditch the title of “master,” which was used for faculty members who headed Yale’s residential colleges. Its two new residential colleges will also be named after Benjamin Franklin and Anna Pauline Murray, an African-American legal scholar and civil rights activist who graduated from Yale Law School in 1965. Ithaca College In solidarity with MU and Yale, more than 1,000 students participated in a walkout at Ithaca College during the school’s family weekend last year. The walkout was organized by the group People of Color at Ithaca College, or POC at IC. The main demand was that the university’s president, Tom Rochon, step down. The protest was organized in an attempt to recognize the adversity that students of color face on campus. Rochon has since announced that he
will step down July 2017. “Since last fall, the college has implemented a number of initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion on campus,” according to The Ithacan, the campus newspaper. Such reforms include “creating a chief diversity officer position, diversity workshops for staff, a Sakai site dedicated to informing the campus community about diversity and inclusion issues, and diversity requirements for the faculty hiring process.” Princeton University More than a hundred Princeton students participated in a 32-hour sitin last year in the office of university President Christopher Eisgruber. Prior to the sit-in, protest leaders from the Black Justice League, a group on campus, read a list of demands. The most attentiongrabbing demand was that the school cast off the name and imagery of Woodrow Wilson throughout campus. Wilson was a former professor and president of the university in addition to the 28th president of the United States.
The group repudiated Wilson’s name due to his opposition to admitting black students and his support of the Ku Klux Klan. A 10-member committee was put together to consider this request. The group decided to uphold the names of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Woodrow Wilson College as a way “to be honest and forthcoming” about the university’s history, and to retain transparency. However, the group does maintain that Princeton has changes to make in order to achieve an inclusive, diverse campus. The university has taken the group’s advice seriously and has fostered initiatives to achieve an accepting campus environment. Such initiatives include “the start of the University’s new dean for diversity and inclusion, LaTanya Buck, and new and redesigned diversity programs during undergraduate and graduate student orientation,” according to the university’s website. Edited by Katherine White kwhite@themaneater.com
Title IX Office sees increased work with civil rights addition Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX Ellen Eardley: “The focus on multiple and intersectional identities is important. It better reflects the realities of our lives and the ways in which systems of oppression — and inclusion — work.” SARAH HALLAM Reporter Last December, MU created the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX as part of the Division of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity to give students a central place to report all forms of discrimination and harassment and to assist the university with policies that would promote inclusion and equality on campus. The new office was announced after a fall 2015 semester filled with racially charged incidents and subsequent protests. High-profile acts of harassment included slurs shouted at former Missouri Students Association President Payton Head and members of the Legion of Black Collegians Homecoming Court, a swastika drawn in feces in a residence hall and anonymous threats posted to the anonymous social network Yik Yak. Previously, MU’s Title IX Office
operated in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs, such as public universities. There are other laws that prevent discrimination as well, and the new office provides a place to report and address discrimination at the university. “Previously, several different offices might have addressed equity or discrimination issues, like Human Resources, Student Conduct or the Provost’s Office,” Ellen Eardley, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX, said in an email. “A student, for example, might not have known where to go if they had a concern about discrimination involving a faculty member. Now, we’re making it simple. There’s one central place.” The Office for Civil Rights and Title IX publishes an annual report listing how many reports of discrimination
were filed and how many cases were resolved. Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX Ellen Eardley said last March that she expected the number of reports to the office to increase, but the annual report for 2015-16 has not yet been released. The creation of the office has also increased the amount of work for the staff members who handle discrimination issues due to the expansion of types of discrimination that the new office covers. “Office for Civil Rights and Title IX team members are hardworking folks who are committed to fairness and inclusiveness,” Eardley said. “They have skillfully taken on increased responsibilities and workload. They are dedicated to helping others.” The office has also created a new staff position, the Education, Prevention and Outreach Coordinator, who will help spread the word about the new office
and the role it plays inside the Division of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity. Eardley said the new office covers several specific focus areas: preventing discrimination, consulting with key stakeholders, engaging in conflict resolution, educating individuals about their rights, investigating and resolving complaints and connecting individuals to resources. Eardley said office administrators remain hopeful for the future accomplishments of the new office and want students to know all the services the office offers. “We hope the new office has helped show people throughout the campus community that they have a clear place to go for their voices to be heard,” Eardley said. “And we hope that sentiment will grow as the word spreads.” Edited by Emily Gallion egallion@themaneater.com
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How MSA responds to campus issues MSA President Sean Earl: “In the past, MSA has been pretty silent in terms of staying neutral in a situation.” FIONA MURPHY Staff Writer Past leaders of the Missouri Students Association have criticized the organization for declining to speak on issues that affect students, such as the status of Planned Parenthood and guns on campus. Last fall, though, MSA couldn’t avoid taking sides. MSA statements came into play last November when national attention on MU prompted the association to make statements about the incidents of racism and protests on campus. Current MSA President Sean Earl said the association had several media outlets and student groups reach out to them asking for their response. The organization released a statement on Nov. 9 last year urging Tim Wolfe to resign. “We cannot allow the systematic oppression of MU students to continue, we must create institutional changes immediately,” the statement read. “The
resignation of Tim Wolfe is only the first of many actions that need to take place.” Former MSA President Payton Head and former Vice President Brenda SmithLezama drafted all executive statements last fall. The executive cabinet decides to issue these statements after discussion with the group most affected by the incident, Earl said. However, the opinions of the Executive Cabinet and Senate did not always match up last fall. When Jonathan Butler announced his hunger strike Nov. 4 last year, the cabinet hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the potential process of removing Tim Wolfe. “The conflict we got into last fall was [that cabinet] wanted to make a statement, but not everybody in Senate wanted to fully make a statement,” Earl said. Former Senate Speaker Kevin Carr said at the time that MSA should not support the hunger strike. Carr said that he was speaking for himself, not the organization, and he was supportive of the greater cause
of racial equality at MU. “Jonathan Butler’s expression, and his way of going about it, is putting himself in danger, and it’s even encouraging other students to put themselves in danger, too,” Carr said. “I think it’s irresponsible of student leaders to endorse that sort of behavior.” MSA communicates with students about campus issues in two ways: through Senate in the form of resolutions and through Executive Cabinet in the form of a statement. Communications made in each way go through different processes and represent the opinions of different people in the organization. Senate is more restricted than the cabinet in its ability to release statements. The body communicates its opinion through resolutions, which are pieces of legislation that must pass through with a majority vote. After the passage of a resolution, all senators must publicly support its opinion regardless of their own personal stance.
“Usually when something happens, we’re going to make a statement,” Earl said. “I think a lot of times if MSA isn’t directly affected by it, it’s kind of bad for us to put out this big grandiose statement if we weren’t even affected by it.” After a new policy was created last March, students are now able to draft their own resolutions and submit them to the speaker. Senate is obligated to debate the issue if the student author gets 50 other students to sign onto it. The change was made in response to what student leaders described as a tendency of MSA to stay silent on issues important to students. “In the past, MSA has been pretty silent in terms of staying neutral in a situation, but then we had the really hard conversation of if we’re staying silent who are we really hurting,” Earl said. Edited by Emily Gallion egallion@themaneater.com
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ONE YEAR LATER
Race committee remains determined to change campus The committee rules on expereince and recommendations to work toward a change in racial relations at MU. JACKSON KINKEAD Staff Writer A year after race-based protests on campus, Faculty Council is still committed to relieve racial tension at MU. In September, its Race Relations Committee published a progress report describing what it learned about racial issues on campus. The repor t outlined the different experiences, insights and recommendations the committee had and expressed a desire to create similar committees across the UM System. Some of the committee members became prominent figures during the protests last fall, specifically Jonathan Butler and Mike Middleton. Butler went on a hunger strike in November 2015 until UM System President Tim Wolfe resigned. Middleton became the interim president after Tim Wolfe’s resignation. Despite the committee’s work in last fall’s events and since then, Chairman Berkley Hudson said he is worried that the campus has lost the sense of immediacy needed to resolve race issues. “I still have a sadness, concern, worry that the urgency of last fall has dissipated,” Hudson said. “The urgency to address the tensions and conflicts of race relations has dissipated.” Faculty Council created the committee after then-Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin held a listening session on Dec. 1, 2014, in response to protests in and about Ferguson. During the session, the focus quickly shifted to the experiences of students and faculty on MU’s campus, so the administration began looking for someone who could lead a committee to discuss racial issues. Craig Roberts, Faculty Council chairman at the time, is one of the committee’s founding members. He appointed Hudson as chairman. Roberts also joined the committee because, after the listening session, he wanted to help the students who had suffered “a steady dose of discrimination.” “I saw more ‘group pain’ and ‘group hurt’ than I have seen in a long time,” Roberts said in an email. “The students and some faculty were listing off everything that had happened to them, and most of it was subtle or unintentional mistreatment ... I began listening better. I came to see us living
Former graduate student Jonathan Butler participates in a “We’re Not Afraid” march November 2015. THOMAS OIDE | PHOTOGRAPHER
in the parallel universe. My world, which occurs alongside the world of my black colleagues, is completely different.” Hudson said when the administration approached him to be the chairman of what would become the Race Relations Committee, he was initially wary. “I was hesitant,” Hudson said. “I wasn’t so sure that the chancellor and the administration would be so
possible to ask hard questions and offer controversial perspectives. It took trust to move ahead.” During the committee’s creation, the founding members were concerned that there were not enough students on the committee. Typically, Faculty Council committees have no student representatives, but Hudson decided the committee needed two students.
“I STILL HAVE A SADNESS, CONCERN, WORRY THAT THE URGENCY OF LAST FALL HAS DISSIPATED. THE URGENCY TO ADDRESS THE TENSIONS AND CONFLICTS OF RACE RELATIONS HAS DISSIPATED.” — RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN BERKLEY HUDSON supportive, but I met with them for about two hours and I was persuaded that Chancellor Loftin was serious about wanting to address problems with race relations on campus and that he would be supportive. So I agreed.” Hudson said it took him a while to fill the committee because he wanted a diversity of viewpoints and people willing to talk. “You have to include the wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds in any discussion that has to do with race,” Hudson said. “That’s what is very difficult to do: to get people comfortable enough to be uncomfortable, and talk about race and about their feelings, their attitude, their upbringings, their biases.” Roberts also explained that the committee members were initially wary to talk because they were worried of being misunderstood, not believed, poorly expressed or ignorant. “Any comment can trigger anger in the listener — individual or group,” Roberts said in his email. “The discussion can quickly escalate and bring the worst out of us. So we shut down. We begin opening up when we agree to listen and learn. I developed trust with the committee members, which made it
The two students were 2016 graduate Corie Wilkens and then-graduate student Butler. The committee also included a staff representative, Stephanie Hernandez, then-director of the Multicultural Center. This brought the number of committee members up to 12. Besides having diversity of position, Hudson also wanted people on the committee who did not necessarily believe there were racial problems on campus. Some of these other perspectives were shown in the race relations report. “I am unconvinced that institutional racism … is a current problem on the MU campus,” committee member Ray Massey said in the report. “I am convinced persons (students, staff and faculty) give negative treatment to those of other races.” In his recommendations, he encouraged the inclusion of all voices in these types of conversations and a more positive repurposing of privilege. “We should involve the Christian community in this repurposing,” Massey said in the report. “Christians should recognize and celebrate the blessings God has given them. Christians should recognize that God gives blessings
Interim President Mike Middleton speaks at a press conference regarding the events of November 2015. MANEATER FILE PHOTO
Race Relations Committee Chairman Berkley Hudson COURTESY OF MISSOURI SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM
to enable them to serve those less fortunate.” Despite all the varying viewpoints, there was still one thing that all the committee members agreed on. “Everyone had a deep heartfelt love for Mizzou, and that’s where we intersect,” Hudson said. Hudson said he believes diverse viewpoints are necessary for this kind of committee. “It can’t be everyone who shares the same outlook on this, or I don’t think we will make progress,” Hudson said. Hudson said he is confident in the power of the committee, though. These committees can act as “greenhouses” that strengthen relationships across the campus. “We all had a sense of immediacy, and we still today,” Hudson said. He is hopeful that Kevin McDonald’s work as interim vice chancellor for inclusion and UM System chief diversity officer can, by having a permanent role, greatly help racial tensions on campus. Hudson said for the future, the committee will need McDonald’s “help in having administrative support.” The committee’s goal, as indicated in their September report, is to develop more similar committees across the UM System. Besides having committees for campuses, there will ideally be committees for individual groups, like the College of Business or School of Medicine. Hudson called it “a bold, ambitious idea.” Hudson said the populations are becoming increasingly more diverse, though, and the university needs to prepare for that kind of population. “Missouri is the future of the United States, whether we like it or not,” Hudson said. Edited by Claire Mitzel cmitzel@themaneater.com
Race Relations Committee co-founder Craig Roberts COURTESY OF MU DIVISION OF PLANT SCIENCES