University Of Kansas Racial Tensions: Student Group Calls For Resignation Of 3

A member of the black student protest group Concerned Student 1950 gestures while addressing a crowd following the announcement that University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe would resign, at the university in Columbia, Mo. A student who was one of the original organizers of the group was not immediately available for comment.

You can learn to think deeply only if you are occasionally presented with novels, images and lyrics that make you uncomfortable, that move you past your comfort zone, that provoke you. "Now you guys want to separate yourselves", he complained. This isn't being "too sensitive"; this is called opposing racism. "I'm not really the protest type". "I should be thankful", Yale junior Tobias Holden told the Hartford Courant.

Amid all these developments, what exactly is going on?

Last Thursday, it was clear the decision to appoint Michael Middleton, an African-American civil rights attorney, as interim president was a signal that the university would respond more effectively to the racism on its campus. These are moments that are daily realities for many students of color.

4 MU Student Subscriptions Free! After protests at the Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, last week, the dean of students-who told a Latina student in an email that she would work to serve those who "don't fit our CMC mold"-was forced to apologize and resigned".

A person of ordinary sensibilities would think that tends to show that the University is neither institutionally racist nor narrow-minded. In 2011, a black, life-sized doll was hung from neck from a campus house in a lynching style. Just out-argue them. Beat them.

"Black students do not feel that the Student Senate provides adequate representation, funding and support for their needs."

The Missouri student body was not satisfied with the actions of the president after their homecoming parade. Many are creating social clubs and working groups emphasizing dialogue among students, as seen in Georgetown University's Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation.

General threats were made to black students, warning them of violent acts that might have ensued in the days following the pressured resignation. By 10 p.m., it had about 160 signatures. Other campuses are similarly organizing. After Head, several black students experienced similar abuse.

Chanting "It's not just Mizzou!"

Eventually, the activist's demands will be impossible to meet. "We are absolutely committed to regaining that trust through improving the culture and climate across our campuses, one that is healthy and built upon respect of others". On the other hand, it's a crying shame to see that the United States of America - under an African-American President, no less - has drifted so far from the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of a country in which people are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. She said it may be time "to open up the definition of what is academy worthy and also to understand that there are different ways to be exceptional, so there's not just this one route to being the best kind of faculty member". At Ithaca College in Upstate NY, students citing the Mizzou protests called for the resignation of their college president, criticizing his lackluster response to racial incidents on campus. Underneath were two hashtags tied to national campus movements: , which refers to students at Missouri and the first year black students were admitted there, and #BlackOnCampus.

Black student activists have also been organziing at Yale in recent weeks.

The voice of students can not be silenced.

William Quan, a Chinese-American who also graduated Fordham College in 2011, sat down to talk with me.

"We found a way that we could make a difference and we made that difference", said Jackson. "We refuse to be the silent markers of diversity! We challenge other campuses to challenge, and if necessary, remove their administration".

Although the population of Missouri is 12 percent black, only 3.2 percent of its tenured faculty and staff is black. In March, fraternity brothers in Oklahoma were caught on video singing and laughing about lynching black men - racial slurs included. When around 400 students linked arms in Marsh Plaza, shouting "M-i-z-z-o-u", Jackson said she was proved wrong.

The rally ended with a short prayer and a group photo. "He's been a part of this community for a long time".

A group representing African American students on campus, ConcernedStudent1950, demanded that Wolfe be removed and that a comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum be developed. University of Missouri police Maj.

The undercurrent of racism and its attendant tensions had been simmering over the years at the Mizzou campus in Columbia, but the authorities appeared to turn a blind eye and instead got busy with what they must have adjudged to be more important administrative issues. Thanks to this student-led , President John J. DeGioia has agreed to change the names of Mulledy Hall and McSherry Hall. "It gave people an opportunity to think about what it is like being black, because what is happening in Missouri could happen anywhere". And this is at a state university that is supposedly affordable.

"The black experience on Mizzou's campus is cornered in offices and rarely attended to until it reaches media".

Gay said the millennial generation is more accepting of diversity.

Hundreds of students gathered on Red Square at University of Washington in Seattle.

He said all parties need to listen to one another for progress to happen. "The institutions are not protecting Black students".

At the University of Missouri, new leadership might very well be a start.