Christian Cieri, Illustrator
University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe has resigned in the face of repeated calls for accountability with regards to the university administration’s handling of recent racial tensions of campus. This week, almost 30 black football players at the University of Missouri joined with the Legion of Black Collegians (LBC) in demonstrations against Wolfe.
In light of what the players and the group had determined to be the administration’s failure to act appropriately regarding several recent events, the players had announced that they would refuse to play unless Wolfe resigned.
Wolfe released a statement on Monday. “It is my belief [that] we stopped listening to each other,” he said. “We have to respect each other enough to stop yelling at each other, start listening and quit intimidating each other. I take full responsibility for this frustration, and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred.”
LCB made its announcement on their Twitter account on Saturday night. “The athletes of color on the University of Missouri football team truly believe ‘Injustice Anywhere is a threat to Justice Everywhere,’” the LCB announcement read. “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. WE ARE UNITED!!!!!”
The statement was tweeted along with a photo of participating players linking arms together with a graduate student who participated in a hunger strike. Wolfe had met with the student before tearfully announcing his resignation on Monday.
LCB and others had specifically taken issue with the way in which the university failed to adequately respond to numerous instances of racial slurs being directed towards black students on campus. In addition, it was recently discovered that someone had used feces to smear a swastika onto a residence hall wall.
On Sunday, Wolfe had intially responded, “My administration has been meeting around the clock and has been doing a tremendous amount of reflection on how to address these complex matters. Clearly, we are open to listening to all sides and are confident that we can come together to improve the student experience on our campuses. We want to find the best way to get everyone around the table and create the safe space for a meaningful conversation that promotes change.”
Bernstein is a member of the class of 2018.
