Graduate students called for a walkout on Monday as protests demanding the University of Missouri president’s ouster over racial insensitivity gained steam.
Black student groups all semester have criticized President Tim Wolfe’s handling of racism on campus. A black graduate student went on hunger strike last week to draw awareness to the issue and black football players joined the movementover the weekend, backed by their coach.
The protests have been percolating for months on Missouri’s predominantly white campus, where students have complained of racial slurs and harassment.
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
Wolfe became the target of protesters’ ire for allegedly failing to address the issues — and appearing to dismiss activists at the school’s October homecoming parade by driving away. Wolfe’s refusal to step down — saying in a statement Sunday he was “dedicated to ongoing dialogue — prompted two “outraged” graduate student organizations to call for a walk out to “stand in solidarity against systematic inequality.”
“This step has not been taken lightly. We have chosen to do so because we believe an injury to any member of the campus community is an injury to all,” the Sterling Committee of the Forum on Graduate Rights and Coalition of Graduate Workers said in a statement shared online.
The University of Missouri’s Graduate Professional Council quickly backed the walkout, urging students to participate in protests and solidarity events. Missouri’s history department also expressed support, saying that students who walk out won’t be sanctioned.
History Department’s Statement in Support of Mizzou Students pic.twitter.com/k9BssUYj8I — History at Mizzou (@HistoryatMizzou) November 9, 2015
“The department of history understands the way in which institutionalized racism and other forms of social oppression have shaped and affected our society,” it said in a statement. “We therefore support our students’ efforts to address these problems.”
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