Ole Miss Student Organizations Hold Discussion Concerning Mizzou

Many events led to the resignation of Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri.

Students held many protests in order to get the president to resign. The reason for the protests was because the students believed that Wolfe didn’t handle racial incidents appropriately. With the step-down of Wolfe, the students at Mizzou saw this as a great positive step towards making a difference.

In response, several student organizations at the University of Mississippi came together to host this event: “Are You Ready? Dialogue Series.” Associated Student Body, NAACP, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Black Student Union and the Center for Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Engagement held this event in the Bryant Hall on the university campus.

The purpose of this event was to listen to and understand the different reactions and reflections about the events that took place at the University of Missouri. Dr. James Thomas was the facilitator of the event. After welcoming everyone, he instantly jumped right into the main topic.

“I spent many years on the campus of the University of Missouri. I’ve seen many acts of racism,” said Dr. Thomas.

With all of the information he gave to the students and faculty, the attendants could say that he had researched everything that happened at the University of Missouri.

Many students attended the event with numerous questions, looking for answers.

Chandler Scott, UM student, asked, “Do you see any comparisons with our campus and Missouri’s as far as racism?”

With this question, Dr. Thomas answered: “Certainly.” He agreed that some of the events that happened on UM campus does represent racism.

“The incident that happened with the James Meredith statue obviously demonstrated an act of racism,” said Dr. Thomas.

As the event went on and more questions were asked, one question was asked that sparked a short discussion.

“I’m just a little confused because I’m still trying to figure out why the Confederate flag was taken down,” Haley Cox, UM student, said. “Why would you take down what is basically white history to us?”

This question raised numerous hands and turned many heads.

“Well, that flag represented something that we as African-Americans didn’t believe in,” Chandler Scott said. “That was one thing that made us uncomfortable on this campus. The students at Mizzou felt the same and took action just like we did.”

In the end, several students and faculty’s questions were answered. Many gave their opinions about the situation at the University of Missouri.

Jeff McIntosh is a senior broadcast journalism major at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. He can be reached at jtmcint1@go.olemiss.edu.

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