Missouri football players to strike, want removal of president for ‘widespread

An African-American student at a Missouri college two hours away from the epicenter of anti-police and anti-racism protests that erupted previous year launched a hunger strike following racist incidents that he says have gone mostly unaddressed by campus officials.

University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe met with Jonathan Butler and representatives of several student organizations Friday to discuss racism on campus. I am very concerned about Jonathan’s health.

“During this hunger strike, I will not consume any food or nutritional sustenance at the expense of my health until either Tim Wolfe is removed from office or my internal organs fail and my life is lost”, Butler claims.

“(Butler’s) voice for social justice is important and powerful”, Wolfe said.

Wolfe also addressed his reaction at the MU homecoming parade when the group Concerned Student 1950 approached his auto.

But Butler, and other Black students at the school, say the campus culture is still deteriorating. It is a long-standing, systemic problem which daily affects our family of students, faculty and staff. I am sorry this is the case.

Ayanna Poole said, “as the UM system president, you have so much power in that moment, you know what I’m saying, so much power in that moment to just get out of your vehicle and let your students know that you actually do care”. The campus climate is not one in which all members of the community feel included and respected. Nonetheless, had I gotten out of the auto to acknowledge the students and talk with them perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Wolfe said he wants to move forward with addressing racism at the university. “We all must come together with leaders from across our campus to tackle these challenging issues and we support our student-athletes right to do so”.