<p>University of Missouri President Timothy W. Wolfe resigned on Monday after months of protests and complaints against his seemingly uncaring attitude towards racist happenings on campus. ;</p>
<p>The protests, including a hunger strike and threats by the football team to boycott the rest of the season, were organized by a group of students called &ldquo;Concerned Students 1950.&rdquo; When approached by the press, the group would not respond, saying only that they &ldquo;want to control the narrative.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Wolfe urged students and faculty to &ldquo;use my resignation to heal and start talking again.&rdquo; In addition to Wolfe&rsquo;s capitulation, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the school year.</p>
<p>Thousands of students swarmed Carnahan Quad after Wolfe&rsquo;s announcement, cheering and pumping their fists into the air. ;</p>
<p>Antagonism against Wolfe and UM leadership stems from repeated accusations ;that President Wolfe was not sensitive to racist happenings on campus. Black students, including the student body president, complained of consistent racist behavior. ;</p>
<p>UM leadership also came under fire for cutting ties with Planned Parenthood and making last minute changes before the start of the current school year that affected graduate students&#8217; benefits and tuition.  ;</p>
<p>Black students (which make up 7% of the student body) were upset that the school did not respond to the death of Michael Brown. &ldquo;In the following months, our students were left stranded, forced to face an increase in tension and inequality with no systemic support,&rdquo; reads a statement by the Missouri Students Association. &ldquo;Over the last 16 months, the quality of life for our students has only worsened.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The straw that broke the camel&rsquo;s back, so to speak, was a blatant symbol of hatred scrawled in a bathroom: a swastika drawn in human feces. ;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, black conservative groups are furious with Wolfe for giving in to student demands. &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t going to provide healing. This is appeasement,&rdquo; said Horace Cooper of Project 21. &ldquo;What we&rsquo;ve witnessed is a racial, totalitarian hostage taking. We have watched folks who are making demands based on unreasonable offenses that they have identified&hellip;&rdquo; ;Cooper hopes that other schools will view UM as an example of what not to do. &ldquo;If this cancer is not cut off now, it is only going to metastasize,&rdquo; he said. ;</p>
<p>The school is also receiving criticism for turning to the campus police force for help. Less than two days after Wolfe&rsquo;s resignation, UM sent out an email instructing students to contact police if they feel offended by &ldquo;hurtful&rdquo; words. The email asks students to call the MUPD, describe the incident, and describe all persons involved. ;</p>
<p>What constitutes as &ldquo;hurtful&rdquo; is unclear. Considering the fact that other schools have listed words like &ldquo;man up,&rdquo; &ldquo;illegal immigration,&rdquo; and &ldquo;welfare queen&rdquo; as aggressors, I predict MUPD will be receiving a lot of phone calls&hellip;</p>
<p>Many view the school&rsquo;s email as an infringement on the First Amendment. ;Just yesterday, a sports reporter for <em>Columbia Daily Tribune</em> tweeted: &ldquo;The University of Missouri is now threatening police force against speech.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>College isn&rsquo;t always a pleasant experience. And despite any institution&rsquo;s best efforts, no school can completely eliminate bullying and racism. Professor Thom Lambert shares a similar opinion in his letter <em>Supporting my Mizzou Students</em>. ;In the letter, he explains that the school has been &ldquo;badly weakened&rdquo; by this experience and that he hopes it can recover. He believes most students understand that &ldquo;free speech means more than the freedom to express view with which you agree.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;So, Mizzou students, I support you,&#8221; reads the end of the letter. &#8220;But I will not coddle you. You&rsquo;re adults and should be treated as such.&rdquo;  ;</p>
<p>You can read the entire letter by clicking the link below. ;</p>
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