University president resigns

Dino Frentzas, Staff Reporter

Racial unrest transpiring in the University of Missouri resulted in the resignation of President Tim Wolfe. This was very much needed to be done by the University. I support the stand the students made.

Several acts of discrimination occurred on campus recently.

Payton Head, was racially abused walking on campus. Then a student yelled the “n-word” at members of Legion of Black Collegians in Campus Plaza. Mr. Wolfe avoided both situations.

The Jewish community was also targeted for racial issues. A swastika was drawn on a dormitory wall. Many Jewish groups reported this instance to the Chancellor Bowen Loftin. Loftin did not take their complaints seriously.

This is very disappointing because as being a leader of a prestigious university such as Missouri these instances should not happen. I do not even think that Mr. Loftin should be part of the University and should resign as well. Taking a lower position does not suffice. He has to resign in order to not have any more of these racial hostilities going on in the University.

The president should not have allowed this to happen. This is not how a president represents a university. Mr. Wolfe is a leader of the University as well, and he is giving a bad perception to the University of Missouri. That perception is a racist perception. I honestly as a racist college, but this is another occurrence of the few ruining it for the many.

Thankfully, students spoke out against the hate crimes. The football team took a stand to no longer play until Tim Wolfe resigned. Jonathan Butler, a student of the university, took drastic measures to make a change by going on a hunger strike until Tim Wolfe resigned. Concerned Student 1950 is an activist group that brought these racial issues to national attention.

The students were very brave. I applaud Butler who put his life on the end to make a difference. He did not eat for about a week just to make a statement.

I believe that boycotting a football game for societal reasons is something that cannot be purchased. One cannot explain how significant of a impact that has, not just for African Americans but for others as well.

Fortunately, Tim Wolfe resigned as president of the University. Now Chuck Henson who is a black law professor is now a interim vice chancellor. The Board of Curators now are looking to hire and preserve a diverse staff and faculty. That’s how much power students and athletes have if they all unite together to make a change. They made a positive impact on their University to make it more diverse so issues like these can be prevented in the future.