(11-10-2015 03:42 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:36 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:34 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I doubt the university wants to know answers. The real danger here is that they make a stand and there is a clear risk of that if they go digging.

Because the report would say "well actually, there really isn't much racism here at Missouri ... so we don't need to make any improvements at all, so just carry on about your business"?

The president resigned. There are obviously issues at the campus.

That's the risk they run isn't it?

I'm sure they can find problems, but can they find enough to satisfy the neo-progressives at the heart of this?

If the answers come back one bit short of the extremes then it will do more harm than good.

It's worth noting that the same type of movement at Yale right now has articles circulating from those involved who aren't, in their own words, interested in the truth of the events in question. Those are "beside the point."

There's no risk at all that the report would come back and say that.

It would say what's obvious: "the report finds that there is credible evidence of an underlying culture of racism at the University of Missouri, and that corrective actions and policies should be installed to halt and reverse this disturbing trend".

(11-10-2015 04:14 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:42 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:36 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:34 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I doubt the university wants to know answers. The real danger here is that they make a stand and there is a clear risk of that if they go digging.

Because the report would say "well actually, there really isn't much racism here at Missouri ... so we don't need to make any improvements at all, so just carry on about your business"?

The president resigned. There are obviously issues at the campus.

That's the risk they run isn't it?

I'm sure they can find problems, but can they find enough to satisfy the neo-progressives at the heart of this?

If the answers come back one bit short of the extremes then it will do more harm than good.

It's worth noting that the same type of movement at Yale right now has articles circulating from those involved who aren't, in their own words, interested in the truth of the events in question. Those are "beside the point."

There's no risk at all that the report would come back and say that.

It would say what's obvious: "the report finds that there is credible evidence of an underlying culture of racism at the University of Missouri, and that corrective actions and policies should be installed to halt and reverse this disturbing trend".

Say what?

The issue isn't what it will say but to what extent it will say it. How far will it go? Don't you get that?

(11-10-2015 04:15 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:14 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:42 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:36 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:34 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I doubt the university wants to know answers. The real danger here is that they make a stand and there is a clear risk of that if they go digging.

Because the report would say "well actually, there really isn't much racism here at Missouri ... so we don't need to make any improvements at all, so just carry on about your business"?

The president resigned. There are obviously issues at the campus.

That's the risk they run isn't it?

I'm sure they can find problems, but can they find enough to satisfy the neo-progressives at the heart of this?

If the answers come back one bit short of the extremes then it will do more harm than good.

It's worth noting that the same type of movement at Yale right now has articles circulating from those involved who aren't, in their own words, interested in the truth of the events in question. Those are "beside the point."

There's no risk at all that the report would come back and say that.

It would say what's obvious: "the report finds that there is credible evidence of an underlying culture of racism at the University of Missouri, and that corrective actions and policies should be installed to halt and reverse this disturbing trend".

Say what?

The issue isn't what it will say but to what extent it will say it. How far will it go? Don't you get that?

I never said the report would be a witch hunt.

No reason to think it would be.

(11-10-2015 04:26 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:15 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:14 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:42 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:36 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  Because the report would say "well actually, there really isn't much racism here at Missouri ... so we don't need to make any improvements at all, so just carry on about your business"?

The president resigned. There are obviously issues at the campus.

That's the risk they run isn't it?

I'm sure they can find problems, but can they find enough to satisfy the neo-progressives at the heart of this?

If the answers come back one bit short of the extremes then it will do more harm than good.

It's worth noting that the same type of movement at Yale right now has articles circulating from those involved who aren't, in their own words, interested in the truth of the events in question. Those are "beside the point."

There's no risk at all that the report would come back and say that.

It would say what's obvious: "the report finds that there is credible evidence of an underlying culture of racism at the University of Missouri, and that corrective actions and policies should be installed to halt and reverse this disturbing trend".

Say what?

The issue isn't what it will say but to what extent it will say it. How far will it go? Don't you get that?

I never said the report would be a witch hunt.

No reason to think it would be.

Good! And it is precisely that which makes it dangerous to pursue. If it isn't it is unlikely to satisfy.

It's that which makes me think that the school will be hesitant to engage in much of a deep review.

@JR
Yes, that's about it. I think it ultimately comes back to Ferguson making those students more sensitive to insensitivity.

(11-10-2015 04:30 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:26 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:15 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:14 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 03:42 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  That's the risk they run isn't it?

I'm sure they can find problems, but can they find enough to satisfy the neo-progressives at the heart of this?

If the answers come back one bit short of the extremes then it will do more harm than good.

It's worth noting that the same type of movement at Yale right now has articles circulating from those involved who aren't, in their own words, interested in the truth of the events in question. Those are "beside the point."

There's no risk at all that the report would come back and say that.

It would say what's obvious: "the report finds that there is credible evidence of an underlying culture of racism at the University of Missouri, and that corrective actions and policies should be installed to halt and reverse this disturbing trend".

Say what?

The issue isn't what it will say but to what extent it will say it. How far will it go? Don't you get that?

I never said the report would be a witch hunt.

No reason to think it would be.

Good! And it is precisely that which makes it dangerous to pursue. If it isn't it is unlikely to satisfy.

It's that which makes me think that the school will be hesitant to engage in much of a deep review.

Because it won't be a witch hunt, it's dangerous?

Come on.

(11-10-2015 05:22 PM)bullet Wrote:  @JR
Yes, that's about it. I think it ultimately comes back to Ferguson making those students more sensitive to insensitivity.

I pity this generation. All they are being taught to be are victims. There are too many young minds being led by those who want to use their situations for their own ends, whether that is on the left, or right, politically.

Will someone give me a really, really high level explanation of the complaints? I know that several MIZZOU football players threatened to go on strike because of "racism" unless the president of the university stepped down. The president then stepped down. That's the part that I more or less know.

However, I'm not sure what caused the athletes to complain about racism (i.e. did a university employee say something racist?) and I am not sure why the president was implicated (i.e. did he do something, or was he just the guy at the top?).

(11-10-2015 06:37 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Will someone give me a really, really high level explanation of the complaints? I know that several MIZZOU football players threatened to go on strike because of "racism" unless the president of the university stepped down. The president then stepped down. That's the part that I more or less know.

However, I'm not sure what caused the athletes to complain about racism (i.e. did a university employee say something racist?) and I am not sure why the president was implicated (i.e. did he do something, or was he just the guy at the top?).

I posted this late last night in the thread in the spin room, gathered the info from a couple different sources listing a timeline of the events, although I don't have those saved. I think there's more to it, specifically involving planned parenthood, but none of the demands made had anything to do with that.

Quote:

1. In 2010 cotton balls were strewn around Mizzou’s Black Culture Center. Jonathan L. Butler was an undergrad at that time, and was aware of what happened. I don't believe the school issued any formal response to this incident.
2. On Sept 11, 2015, Payton Head, the Missouri Students Association president and an African American, was racially abused as he walked home.
   “Last night as I walking through campus, some guys riding on the back of a pickup truck decided that it would be okay to continuously scream N—– at me,” Head wrote on Facebook the next day. “I really just want to know why my simple existence is such a threat to society.”
   On Sept 17, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, the top resident official on the Missouri campus, issues a statement deploring "recent incidents of bias and discrimination." He calls them "totally unacceptable."
3. On Oct 5, members of the Legion of Black Collegians (LBC) were in a campus plaza rehearsing for a play the following night when “an inebriated white male” called them “n—–s.”
   Chancellor Loftin responded quickly, stating, “We support free speech in the context of learning, spirited inquiry and intellectual discussion, but acts of bias and discrimination will not be tolerated at Mizzou.”
   The Mizzou Police Department identified the person who disrupted the LBC Royalty Court rehearsal and whose behavior and racist remarks made members of our community feel hurt and angry. The individual has been moved from campus by the Office of Student Conduct, pending the outcome of the conduct process.
4. On Oct 10, Butler and 10 other African American students interrupted Mizzou’s homecoming parade by surrounding Wolfe’s convertible. Butler shouted into a megaphone, “We will be here until we are heard, and our people are protected and they feel safe on this campus.”
   President Wolfe's driver bumped into the crowd twice and Columbia police eventually pushed the protesters aside to allow the parade to continue. Police had threatened to use pepper spray and threatened to arrest the protesters, however neither was done.
5. On Oct 20, student group ‘Concerned Student 1950’, named for the first year African-American students were admitted to the university, issued a list of demands including:
   • President Wolfe gives an apology to the student group, acknowledge his white privilege, and recognize that systems of oppression exist.
   • Immediate removal of Wolfe as President.
   • University meets the Legion of Black Collegians’ demands that were presented in the 1969 for the betterment of the black community.
   • University creates and enforces comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum throughout all campus departments and units, mandatory for all students, faculty, staff and administration. This curriculum must be vetted, maintained, and overseen by a board comprised of students, staff and faculty of color.
   • By the academic year 2017-18, the University increases the percentage of black faculty and staff members campus-wide by 10 percent.
   • University composes a strategic 10-year plan on May, 1 2016 that will increase retention rates for marginalized students, sustain diversity curriculum and training, and promote a more safe and inclusive campus.
   • University increases funding and resources for the University of Missouri Counseling Center for the purpose of hiring additional mental health professionals, particularly those of color.
   • University increases funding, resources and personnel for the social justice centers on campus for the purpose of hiring additional professionals, particularly those of color.
     
6. On Oct 24, feces was smeared on a bathroom wall in a dorm in the shape of a swastika. No suspect has been identified in this incident.
7. On Oct 26, President Wolfe meets with the student group, but doesn’t agree to their demands
8. On Nov 3, Jonathon Butler launches a hunger strike.
9. On Nov 6, President Wolfe issues an apology to the student group, "Racism does exist at our university and it is unacceptable. It is a long-standing, systemic problem which daily affects our family of students, faculty and staff."
   Later that night, in Kansas City, he angers protesters who ask him if he knows what "systematic oppression" is. "It's -- systematic oppression is because you don't believe that you have the equal opportunity for success," he said, prompting disbelief from protesters. "Did you just blame us for systematic oppression, Tim Wolfe?”
10. On Nov 7, Mizzou Communications Professor Melissa Click posts on Facebook asking for help getting media involved in the ongoing issue.
11. On Nov 8, black football players announce they will not practice or play until President Wolfe resigns.
12. Today, Nov 9:
    • President Wolfe resigns.
    • An Asian reporter trying to take pictures of the protest site is bullied and pushed away by a group of protesters. Included in the group is Professor Melissa Click, who even asks for muscle to help get a second reporter away. Video of incident is captured by the second reporter; I do not know his race.
    • Official Twitter account of the student group tweets: “It's typically white media who don't understand the importance of respecting black spaces.”
    • University Chancellor R Bowen Loftin also announces he is resigning effective at the end of the year. I'm not sure if this is related to the racial situations or more to do with the Planned Parenthood issue and other complaints from the current professors and deans in regard to how the school has been run.
      

Two other issues:
The grad student insurance thing is apparently because of an IRS audit revealed the school shouldn't get federal funding to pay for the insurance, and Loftin sent out a 1 day notice indicating it was going to be cancelled. The grad students planned a walk-out and the school caved in to demands and decided they'd continue to pay for the insurance, apparently without getting any federal money to help with it. This all happened back in August.
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktake...-insurance

Also back in August, the school cancelled 10 contracts with Planned Parenthood, including teaching medical students how to perform abortions. The state had began investigating the tie between the university and Planned Parenthood in light of a series of 11 videos exposing how the abortion company sells aborted babies and their body parts, which supposedly led to the cancelling of the contracts. About 2500 petitions were signed asking for the contracts to be renewed by MU students, faculty, staff and community members. Laura McQuade, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, had asked for a deadline of December 1st to renew the contracts.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/11/04/abort...arenthood/

And in the running for the funniest thing yet, there's now speculation the poop swastika may have been a hoax.
http://thefederalist.com/2015/11/10/was-...iant-hoax/

(11-10-2015 06:45 PM)Phlipper33 Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 06:37 PM)nzmorange Wrote:  Will someone give me a really, really high level explanation of the complaints? I know that several MIZZOU football players threatened to go on strike because of "racism" unless the president of the university stepped down. The president then stepped down. That's the part that I more or less know.

However, I'm not sure what caused the athletes to complain about racism (i.e. did a university employee say something racist?) and I am not sure why the president was implicated (i.e. did he do something, or was he just the guy at the top?).

I posted this late last night in the thread in the spin room, gathered the info from a couple different sources listing a timeline of the events, although I don't have those saved. I think there's more to it, specifically involving planned parenthood, but none of the demands made had anything to do with that.

Quote:

1. In 2010 cotton balls were strewn around Mizzou’s Black Culture Center. Jonathan L. Butler was an undergrad at that time, and was aware of what happened. I don't believe the school issued any formal response to this incident.
2. On Sept 11, 2015, Payton Head, the Missouri Students Association president and an African American, was racially abused as he walked home.
   “Last night as I walking through campus, some guys riding on the back of a pickup truck decided that it would be okay to continuously scream N—– at me,” Head wrote on Facebook the next day. “I really just want to know why my simple existence is such a threat to society.”
   On Sept 17, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, the top resident official on the Missouri campus, issues a statement deploring "recent incidents of bias and discrimination." He calls them "totally unacceptable."
3. On Oct 5, members of the Legion of Black Collegians (LBC) were in a campus plaza rehearsing for a play the following night when “an inebriated white male” called them “n—–s.”
   Chancellor Loftin responded quickly, stating, “We support free speech in the context of learning, spirited inquiry and intellectual discussion, but acts of bias and discrimination will not be tolerated at Mizzou.”
   The Mizzou Police Department identified the person who disrupted the LBC Royalty Court rehearsal and whose behavior and racist remarks made members of our community feel hurt and angry. The individual has been moved from campus by the Office of Student Conduct, pending the outcome of the conduct process.
4. On Oct 10, Butler and 10 other African American students interrupted Mizzou’s homecoming parade by surrounding Wolfe’s convertible. Butler shouted into a megaphone, “We will be here until we are heard, and our people are protected and they feel safe on this campus.”
   President Wolfe's driver bumped into the crowd twice and Columbia police eventually pushed the protesters aside to allow the parade to continue. Police had threatened to use pepper spray and threatened to arrest the protesters, however neither was done.
5. On Oct 20, student group ‘Concerned Student 1950’, named for the first year African-American students were admitted to the university, issued a list of demands including:
   • President Wolfe gives an apology to the student group, acknowledge his white privilege, and recognize that systems of oppression exist.
   • Immediate removal of Wolfe as President.
   • University meets the Legion of Black Collegians’ demands that were presented in the 1969 for the betterment of the black community.
   • University creates and enforces comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum throughout all campus departments and units, mandatory for all students, faculty, staff and administration. This curriculum must be vetted, maintained, and overseen by a board comprised of students, staff and faculty of color.
   • By the academic year 2017-18, the University increases the percentage of black faculty and staff members campus-wide by 10 percent.
   • University composes a strategic 10-year plan on May, 1 2016 that will increase retention rates for marginalized students, sustain diversity curriculum and training, and promote a more safe and inclusive campus.
   • University increases funding and resources for the University of Missouri Counseling Center for the purpose of hiring additional mental health professionals, particularly those of color.
   • University increases funding, resources and personnel for the social justice centers on campus for the purpose of hiring additional professionals, particularly those of color.
     
6. On Oct 24, feces was smeared on a bathroom wall in a dorm in the shape of a swastika. No suspect has been identified in this incident.
7. On Oct 26, President Wolfe meets with the student group, but doesn’t agree to their demands
8. On Nov 3, Jonathon Butler launches a hunger strike.
9. On Nov 6, President Wolfe issues an apology to the student group, "Racism does exist at our university and it is unacceptable. It is a long-standing, systemic problem which daily affects our family of students, faculty and staff."
   Later that night, in Kansas City, he angers protesters who ask him if he knows what "systematic oppression" is. "It's -- systematic oppression is because you don't believe that you have the equal opportunity for success," he said, prompting disbelief from protesters. "Did you just blame us for systematic oppression, Tim Wolfe?”
10. On Nov 7, Mizzou Communications Professor Melissa Click posts on Facebook asking for help getting media involved in the ongoing issue.
11. On Nov 8, black football players announce they will not practice or play until President Wolfe resigns.
12. Today, Nov 9:
    • President Wolfe resigns.
    • An Asian reporter trying to take pictures of the protest site is bullied and pushed away by a group of protesters. Included in the group is Professor Melissa Click, who even asks for muscle to help get a second reporter away. Video of incident is captured by the second reporter; I do not know his race.
    • Official Twitter account of the student group tweets: “It's typically white media who don't understand the importance of respecting black spaces.”
    • University Chancellor R Bowen Loftin also announces he is resigning effective at the end of the year. I'm not sure if this is related to the racial situations or more to do with the Planned Parenthood issue and other complaints from the current professors and deans in regard to how the school has been run.
      

Two other issues:
The grad student insurance thing is apparently because of an IRS audit revealed the school shouldn't get federal funding to pay for the insurance, and Loftin sent out a 1 day notice indicating it was going to be cancelled. The grad students planned a walk-out and the school caved in to demands and decided they'd continue to pay for the insurance, apparently without getting any federal money to help with it. This all happened back in August.
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktake...-insurance

Also back in August, the school cancelled 10 contracts with Planned Parenthood, including teaching medical students how to perform abortions. The state had began investigating the tie between the university and Planned Parenthood in light of a series of 11 videos exposing how the abortion company sells aborted babies and their body parts, which supposedly led to the cancelling of the contracts. About 2500 petitions were signed asking for the contracts to be renewed by MU students, faculty, staff and community members. Laura McQuade, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, had asked for a deadline of December 1st to renew the contracts.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/11/04/abort...arenthood/

And in the running for the funniest thing yet, there's now speculation the poop swastika may have been a hoax.
http://thefederalist.com/2015/11/10/was-...iant-hoax/

Thanks!

I do find that there are reverse racism on these issues. You do have some blacks that hate all white people, and want to start a race war like some whites do. Some of these people need to take those sensitivity courses as well.

(11-10-2015 06:18 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:30 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:26 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:15 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:14 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  There's no risk at all that the report would come back and say that.

It would say what's obvious: "the report finds that there is credible evidence of an underlying culture of racism at the University of Missouri, and that corrective actions and policies should be installed to halt and reverse this disturbing trend".

Say what?

The issue isn't what it will say but to what extent it will say it. How far will it go? Don't you get that?

I never said the report would be a witch hunt.

No reason to think it would be.

Good! And it is precisely that which makes it dangerous to pursue. If it isn't it is unlikely to satisfy.

It's that which makes me think that the school will be hesitant to engage in much of a deep review.

Because it won't be a witch hunt, it's dangerous?

Come on.

Bless your heart!

(11-10-2015 10:04 AM)CardFan1 Wrote:  Reality will show in the end Nothing will really be changed. Sad to see Someone lose Their job over actions of others . The PC crowd needs to get real. They don't really run the show.

Apparently they do. I can't even stand to go on social media anymore when a major controversy happens. Not that I'm necessarily the standard when it comes to logic but it can be maddening to try and reason with the irrational, who then protest and shout whether or not their argument has any substance.

My first reaction was what incidents are they talking about and how were they handled.

He gets called the N-word and reports to the president .
He has no description or idea who said it and skipped security and went to the top.
What was the president going to do ?
I guess he could have responded with a letter but that would not have been enough.
This reminds me of the lady who called 911 because her kid would not do the dishes.

The hunger strike worked but seems really dramatic.
The guy on strike wanted the president to admit he only had his position do to white privilege .
So he didn't have a long resume of accomplishments to get the job he's just white.

The first issue Jonathan Butler brought up is the universities reaction to Ferguson.
That probably means its the most important point.
How was the university supposed to react and why should they?
Ferguson is supposed to be a mostly African American town with a white racist police force.

There seems to be a need for protest and a willingness regardless of facts.
Michael Brown turned out to be less than a victim and attacked the cop.
He didn't deserve to die I think the cop was scared and shouldn't have been a cop.
The six cops in the Freddy Gray case two were black .
Instead of racism that was just cops being dirty and abusing their power.
Now in that neighborhood two patrol cars are sent to every call.
A crowd forms to check out what the cops are doing.
The police don't feel safe from the citizens and need backup .

I had a police officer follow my ex-girlfriend home after running her tag.
He shined his spot light in the window while we were watching TV.
I walked out to see what his problem was he claimed the vin# in window didn't match the tag.
So I complained nothing happened even though that is a really stupid excuse.
How could he see the little stamped vin number next to the window?
My point the police abuse their power its not always racial .
I think it is unfortunate that these possibly just protest have shaky reasons for starting. There is plenty of better reasons for them to have started.

http://truthonthemarket.com/2015/11/10/s...-students/

Missouri law professor-great take on the situation:



Supporting my Mizzou Students

Thom Lambert — 10 November 2015 — 59 Comments


Unless you live under a rock, you know that the president and chancellor of the University of Missouri, where I teach law, have resigned in response to protests over their failure to respond to several (three identified) racist incidents on campus. A group called Concerned Student 1950 staged a series of protests and demanded, among other things, that our president resign, that he publicly denounce his white privilege, that the university mandate a “comprehensive racial awareness and inclusion curriculum,” and that the percentage of black faculty and staff be increased to 10% by the 2017-18 school year. Last week, a student embarked on a hunger strike until Concerned Student 1950’s demands were met, and students in solidarity moved into a tent village on one of our quads. Over the weekend, the black members of our football team threatened to boycott play until the president resigned, and our coach, facing four straight losses and little prospect of another victory this season, agreed to support and publicize the boycott. Yesterday morning, Mizzou faculty supporting the Concerned Student group walked out of their classes and headed to the quad, where faculty and administrators joined protesting students in blocking media access to the tent village in the middle of our public quad. Around 10:00 AM, the president resigned, and protesting students danced on the quad. Toward the end of the day, the chancellor announced that he will move from his position at the end of the year.

The Mizzou Faculty Council and the administration of the law school have expressed to Mizzou students that the faculty fully supports them. We faculty members have been encouraged to express that support ourselves. I want to do that now.

I want to express my support for the students for a couple of reasons. First, I really love Mizzou. It’s a special place full of wonderful students. I visited at the University of Minnesota a few years back, and I couldn’t wait to get back to Mizzou. Our students reflect the amazing diversity of our state: inner city kids from St. Louis and Kansas City, kids from the suburbs, kids with southern accents from the bootheel, kids with near-Minnesota accents from the northern part of the state, rich kids from fancy prep schools, poor kids who went to public school in the inner city or farm towns. Unlike so many public law schools, Mizzou has kept its operating costs and its tuition at reasonable levels, so an education here is really open to just about all qualified students from the state. (Minnesota’s in-state law school tuition is $41,222; Missouri’s is $19,545.) We mix everyone together and end up with a wonderful student body. I simply adore my students.

Second, I want to support students who have been the subject of racist remarks because I, too, have experienced the pain of being mocked, criticized, ridiculed, etc. for who I am. I was a not-very-athletic gay kid who attended the very traditional and somewhat jockish Fairview Christian Academy. I followed that up with Wheaton College, Billy Graham’s alma mater. For most of my formative years, I was continually reminded that I was deficient, flawed, damned. Express slurs were few and far between (though they occurred), but I was not accepted for who I am. I know the pain of exclusion, and I want both to provide an empathetic ear to my students who feel excluded and to sound a prophetic voice against those who discriminate.

But I could not really support my Mizzou students in this difficult time if I did not point out a few things.

First–The top administrators of a school of 35,000 people cannot prevent all instances of racism. Ignorant, mean people are sometimes going to yell slurs from their pick-up trucks when they drive through campus. Drunken frat boys are occasionally going to say ugly things. When you ambush the homecoming parade, to which parents have brought their small children for a rah-rah college experience, some people are not going to be nice to you. Those ambushed may be taken aback and may not say all the right things. People who draw things with poop are especially hard to control. Be prepared: The people who replace the deposed president and chancellor at Mizzou are unlikely to prevent every racist incident on our campus.

Second–The U.S. Constitution forbids state institutions from employing racial quotas. Having been involved in hiring at Mizzou for a number of years, I can assure that we bend over backward to fill open positions with qualified minority applicants. It is highly unlikely that Concerned Student 1950’s demand that the percentage of black faculty and staff at Mizzou be raised to 10% by 2017-18 can be implemented in a manner consistent with constitutional obligations. You should know that.

Third–Free speech means more than the freedom to express views with which you agree. I honestly think most Mizzou students understand this point, but I’m afraid that the administrator and communications professor in this video don’t grasp it. Lest you be misled by their ill-advised bullying, you should know that the First Amendment is for everyone.

Fourth–Unreasonable demands have consequences. We will survive this, but Mizzou has been badly weakened. I can’t imagine that the press accounts from the last week will help with minority student and faculty recruitment next year. That’s a shame, because based on my encounters with a great many minority students and professors at Mizzou over the past twelve years, I believe most have had good experiences. Perhaps they haven’t been honest with me. Or perhaps the situation has changed in the last couple of years. If so, I’m terribly sorry to hear that. But, following the events of the last week, I can’t imagine that next year will be better.

Fifth–Regardless of your take on the events of the last week, I hope you will not let bitterness reign in your hearts. Unlike many of my gay friends from conservative religious backgrounds, I chose years ago not to write off those people who were once unkind to me. I’m glad I made that choice. I hope any Mizzou student who is currently feeling marginalized for any reason will keep calm, carry on, give others the benefit of the doubt, and be open to reconciliation.

So, Mizzou students, I support you. But I will not coddle you. You’re adults and should be treated as such.

This is turning into a Maoist hysteria. Read Twitter hashtag #Mizzou. Unfounded rumors become truth.

I think perhaps it is time for a time out. Send everyone home and try again next semester.

(11-10-2015 07:27 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 06:18 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:30 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:26 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  

(11-10-2015 04:15 PM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  Say what?

The issue isn't what it will say but to what extent it will say it. How far will it go? Don't you get that?

I never said the report would be a witch hunt.

No reason to think it would be.

Good! And it is precisely that which makes it dangerous to pursue. If it isn't it is unlikely to satisfy.

It's that which makes me think that the school will be hesitant to engage in much of a deep review.

Because it won't be a witch hunt, it's dangerous?

Come on.

Bless your heart!

You concede the argument, then. OK

http://www.foxsports.com/college-footbal...ies-111115
Is the Entire Mizzou Protest Based On Lies