I've been trying to read up on the happenings at Missouri, since in my opinion one must collect some facts about a situation before forming a legitimate opinion. I've seen multiple perspectives on my Facebook feed, some expressed more vicariously than others. There's been the usual array of articles shared; reports from college students thinking expletives will make their pieces edgy enough to warrant attention, and reports from prominent national news organizations. Each of these provide some value to my interest in understanding the situation, and of course some sensationalism which does not.
Amidst all of the hype and the evolution of hashtags on the issue, I think I've been able to figure out what's happened. However I can't fully understand the culture of the campus, and the relationship between the administration and the students.
From what I can tell, it seems that much of the "uproar" over racial incidents on campus involving students was unfortunately (mis)directed at the university President. It appears that all of the major incidents which sparked the protests and hunger strike occurred because of some ignorant individuals acting out in a horrible manner. It doesn't appear to me at this time that the President of the university would be at fault. Was he accountable for what happened? Possibly if you stretch some things I guess.
I believe the president of any university is ultimately in charge of how the campus is run. He or she can play a significant role in determining the atmosphere and expectations of the campus. However I don't believe that the president (or even the administration) should be accused of allowing individuals to act out in racist ways. I am confident that Missouri and (more importantly) its police force have policies about racism on campus. The President could enact policies to punish racist individuals in an academic sense, but it is up to the government's justice system to handle legal implications. Perhaps the new administration will enact a policy which would lead to racist incidents leading to expulsion. However this seems overly harsh to me.
Do we want academic administrations to have authority over us or not? It is interesting to note cases where students want administrations to "leave them alone" and compare them to cases such as this at Missouri when students want the administration to "take a stand with us." I am puzzled as to what the president could have done in this case to appease all of the protesters. A list of demands was submitted, and the student who began a hunger strike had a clear request for the president. But now that the president is gone, will students be satisfied by the next steps taken by the administration? Initially, it appears that there is still animosity towards the administration.
Is there still a problem with racism at Missouri? Evidently, from the racist death threats and organized hate speech occurring on campus in recent days. Was there a problem with the administration? Possibly, but not as serious a problem as the student response and media coverage indicate (it is also important to note that there were multiple academic issues which students had been unhappy with the administration about prior to the most recent racial incidents).
I sincerely hope that the students, administration, and Missouri family are able to eradicate the presence of racism on their campus. However I question the means which are being taken to accomplish this. I pray that Missouri may find peace, that innocent people will be treated as such, and that those who need to be disciplined receive it in an appropriate manner which is beneficial to the campus.
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