One Month Later, What's Next for University of Missouri Protesters?
By Thomas Dowling, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
November 27, 2015 10:24 am
The last few weeks at the University of Missouri have been nothing if not historic.
The student protests that started with Students Association president Payton Head’s viral Facebook post describing a racially charged verbal confrontation and reached a crescendo with the resignation of two top administrators garnered national attention, sparked campus protests nationwide, and changed the conversation from academics as usual to the racism that still exists in higher education.
It’s been some 50 years since student protest groups made so much noise they made news. But the Mizzou protests have already died out — even as most changes have yet to be made, and the racist incidents continue. Social media threats targeting black students at the university (as well as at others) and a vandalized sign at the university’s black culture center point to ongoing divides and raise questions about whether the school administration needs to take action.
The school’s student movement, then, faces a critical question: Where does it go from here?
Importantly, many students are determined keep it alive — even if it’s unclear what that looks like.
“Although I cannot speak for my counterparts on how we will continue to move forward in our need for change, I can say that I will personally not let the movement die,” said Rebeka Hurley, a black student who has supported Concerned Student 1950, the main group that organized the protests. “I will continue to push forward for the things I know and deserve as a student and a woman of color.”
Perhaps the biggest clue as to the movement’s next steps took place at a meeting held Nov. 20 between student groups and the University of Missouri System Board of Curators. There, student leaders said they’re not backing down, and seemed to be regrouping.
Alex Howe, a graduate student with MU Policy Now, a group of graduate and professional students, said, “The reasons that so many ad hoc organizations have formed recently … is that we have found ourselves in a bit of a state of crisis,” reported the Columbia Daily Tribune. “And in times of crisis, existing hierarchies … flatten and everybody becomes very uncertain, very unsure of what they’re supposed to do.”
But he added that students “are serious about building coalitions, collaborating and getting all of their concerns addressed,” the paper reported.
Issues at the meeting ranged from systematic racism on campus to the providing of child care services to the potential unionization of graduate students. One demand, however, was vocalized by many: shared governance with the university.
The Board of Curators, which governs the four UM System campuses, has included a non-voting student representative since 1984, and a student rep, a largely ceremonial position, was admitted to closed-door board meetings in 1999. Students have advocated for a vote for over a decade, but a series of 27 bills have yet to pass.
Shelby Parnell of CS50 told the curators, “The time for students, staff and faculty to have a voice in who governs us is now.”
Meeting aside, despite the disparate groups the focus of many remains on the enigmatic CS50, named after the first black students to enroll at Mizzou, in 1950. The campus has grappled with racism dating back to their admittance, and incident after incident has proven that people of color are not welcome by all.
The group surfaced after a drunk student yelled racial slurs while the Legion of Black Collegians rehearsed for the Homecoming Parade, and rose to prominence after confronting then-University of Missouri System president Tim Wolfe — who resigned on Nov. 9 along with Mizzou chancellor R. Bowen Loftin — during the parade itself.
CS50 comprised of 11 students, including Jonathan Butler, the graduate student who went on a hunger strike demanding Wolfe’s resignation. The Mizzou Tigers football team, whose boycott of games and practices also helped bring down the top adminstrators, also supports the group.
No clear leadership structure has emerged. Their power lies in part in the way they inspired other students to join in their organized sit-in and demonstrations.
CS50 has stonewalled media, but after emailing five different members of the group, calling two and reaching out on Twitter, USA Today College secured a brief interview with one of its members, Reuben Faloughi.
According to Faloughi, CS50 regrouped following Wolfe’s resignation, focusing its attention on administrative negotiations. He said they have had private conversations with the university.
“We need representation from students, faculty and staff when those positions (the president and the chancellor of the school) are appointed.
“We are trying to converse with both the governor and the Board of Curators to make that happen.”
He also noted that the group’s original list of demands — including Wolfe’s resignation, “comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum,” an increase in black faculty and staff to 10% and more, and a 10-year plan by May 1, 2016, to increase retention rates for marginalized students — remains in place.
“We want the demands met exactly as they were written,” said Faloughi.
For now, it seems, the group is satisfied with the newly appointed interim president, Michael Middleton, the third African-American to graduate from the University of Missouri Law School and a former civil rights attorney.
Other students are, as well.
The university declined to provide a representative to talk on its behalf, despite multiple calls. However, it seems that Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Chuck Henson has been involved in some capacity in discussions with CS50.
Missouri NAACP President Mary A. Ratliff confirmed CS50 is in negotiations with the university. And Carl Kenny II, an adjunct professor at Mizzou who has written columns about the protests for local news outlets and been in contact with CS50, also said the group has been communicating with the university.
But negotiations could prove to be problematic if CS50 wants all demands met, and within its time frame.
“Nobody is ever going to get 100% what they are asking for,” said Ratliff. “I understand we are dealing with younger people who have ideas in mind about what they need to do to change this, but they also should realize this is always a negotiated procedure.”
As to whether the NACCP would support any future Concerned Student 1950 protests — Ratliff had come to campus during the demonstrations to voice support — she said, “It will depend what’s on the table.”
The students do have support from faculty, some of whom were present during the demonstrations. (One, assistant professor of mass communications, Melissa Click, infamously called for “muscle” to help her eject a student journalist filming student protesters camping out on the grounds. She was forced to resign from a courtesy appointment at the university’s Journalism School, but remains on the faculty at the Department of Communication.)
“A host of faculty and alumni support the idea of change,” said Grace Vega, adjunct professor of Spanish. Vega is part of the group Race Matters, comprised of UM faculty members and people from the surrounding community. “And together we can make a more inclusive environment for current and future students.”
Further protests, of course, could come after the Thanksgiving break, though at the moment none seem to be planned.
In the meantime, expect more news to be made at Mizzou.
“The list of goals may not be met in this year,” said Tori Rudd, a student activist who participated in the protests. “But they will be met.”
Thomas Dowling is a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a fall 2015 USA TODAY collegiate correspondent.
November 27, 2015 10:24 am
The last few weeks at the University of Missouri have been nothing if not historic.
The student protests that started with Students Association president Payton Head’s viral Facebook post describing a racially charged verbal confrontation and reached a crescendo with the resignation of two top administrators garnered national attention, sparked campus protests nationwide, and changed the conversation from academics as usual to the racism that still exists in higher education.
It’s been some 50 years since student protest groups made so much noise they made news. But the Mizzou protests have already died out — even as most changes have yet to be made, and the racist incidents continue. Social media threats targeting black students at the university (as well as at others) and a vandalized sign at the university’s black culture center point to ongoing divides and raise questions about whether the school administration needs to take action.
The school’s student movement, then, faces a critical question: Where does it go from here?
Importantly, many students are determined keep it alive — even if it’s unclear what that looks like.
“Although I cannot speak for my counterparts on how we will continue to move forward in our need for change, I can say that I will personally not let the movement die,” said Rebeka Hurley, a black student who has supported Concerned Student 1950, the main group that organized the protests. “I will continue to push forward for the things I know and deserve as a student and a woman of color.”
Perhaps the biggest clue as to the movement’s next steps took place at a meeting held Nov. 20 between student groups and the University of Missouri System Board of Curators. There, student leaders said they’re not backing down, and seemed to be regrouping.
Alex Howe, a graduate student with MU Policy Now, a group of graduate and professional students, said, “The reasons that so many ad hoc organizations have formed recently … is that we have found ourselves in a bit of a state of crisis,” reported the Columbia Daily Tribune. “And in times of crisis, existing hierarchies … flatten and everybody becomes very uncertain, very unsure of what they’re supposed to do.”
But he added that students “are serious about building coalitions, collaborating and getting all of their concerns addressed,” the paper reported.
Issues at the meeting ranged from systematic racism on campus to the providing of child care services to the potential unionization of graduate students. One demand, however, was vocalized by many: shared governance with the university.
The Board of Curators, which governs the four UM System campuses, has included a non-voting student representative since 1984, and a student rep, a largely ceremonial position, was admitted to closed-door board meetings in 1999. Students have advocated for a vote for over a decade, but a series of 27 bills have yet to pass.
Shelby Parnell of CS50 told the curators, “The time for students, staff and faculty to have a voice in who governs us is now.”
Meeting aside, despite the disparate groups the focus of many remains on the enigmatic CS50, named after the first black students to enroll at Mizzou, in 1950. The campus has grappled with racism dating back to their admittance, and incident after incident has proven that people of color are not welcome by all.
The group surfaced after a drunk student yelled racial slurs while the Legion of Black Collegians rehearsed for the Homecoming Parade, and rose to prominence after confronting then-University of Missouri System president Tim Wolfe — who resigned on Nov. 9 along with Mizzou chancellor R. Bowen Loftin — during the parade itself.
CS50 comprised of 11 students, including Jonathan Butler, the graduate student who went on a hunger strike demanding Wolfe’s resignation. The Mizzou Tigers football team, whose boycott of games and practices also helped bring down the top adminstrators, also supports the group.
No clear leadership structure has emerged. Their power lies in part in the way they inspired other students to join in their organized sit-in and demonstrations.
CS50 has stonewalled media, but after emailing five different members of the group, calling two and reaching out on Twitter, USA Today College secured a brief interview with one of its members, Reuben Faloughi.
According to Faloughi, CS50 regrouped following Wolfe’s resignation, focusing its attention on administrative negotiations. He said they have had private conversations with the university.
“We need representation from students, faculty and staff when those positions (the president and the chancellor of the school) are appointed.
“We are trying to converse with both the governor and the Board of Curators to make that happen.”
He also noted that the group’s original list of demands — including Wolfe’s resignation, “comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum,” an increase in black faculty and staff to 10% and more, and a 10-year plan by May 1, 2016, to increase retention rates for marginalized students — remains in place.
“We want the demands met exactly as they were written,” said Faloughi.
For now, it seems, the group is satisfied with the newly appointed interim president, Michael Middleton, the third African-American to graduate from the University of Missouri Law School and a former civil rights attorney.
Other students are, as well.
The university declined to provide a representative to talk on its behalf, despite multiple calls. However, it seems that Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Chuck Henson has been involved in some capacity in discussions with CS50.
Missouri NAACP President Mary A. Ratliff confirmed CS50 is in negotiations with the university. And Carl Kenny II, an adjunct professor at Mizzou who has written columns about the protests for local news outlets and been in contact with CS50, also said the group has been communicating with the university.
But negotiations could prove to be problematic if CS50 wants all demands met, and within its time frame.
“Nobody is ever going to get 100% what they are asking for,” said Ratliff. “I understand we are dealing with younger people who have ideas in mind about what they need to do to change this, but they also should realize this is always a negotiated procedure.”
As to whether the NACCP would support any future Concerned Student 1950 protests — Ratliff had come to campus during the demonstrations to voice support — she said, “It will depend what’s on the table.”
The students do have support from faculty, some of whom were present during the demonstrations. (One, assistant professor of mass communications, Melissa Click, infamously called for “muscle” to help her eject a student journalist filming student protesters camping out on the grounds. She was forced to resign from a courtesy appointment at the university’s Journalism School, but remains on the faculty at the Department of Communication.)
“A host of faculty and alumni support the idea of change,” said Grace Vega, adjunct professor of Spanish. Vega is part of the group Race Matters, comprised of UM faculty members and people from the surrounding community. “And together we can make a more inclusive environment for current and future students.”
Further protests, of course, could come after the Thanksgiving break, though at the moment none seem to be planned.
In the meantime, expect more news to be made at Mizzou.
“The list of goals may not be met in this year,” said Tori Rudd, a student activist who participated in the protests. “But they will be met.”
Thomas Dowling is a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a fall 2015 USA TODAY collegiate correspondent.
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