University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe resigned Monday morning amidst large amounts of protest from the Mizzou student body over the mishandling of racial incidents over the course of the semester.
“My motivation in making this decision comes from love for Columbia and the university,” Wolfe said, according to the Columbia Missourian.
Pressure on Wolfe to resign has been high, starting with the public hunger strike by University of Missouri graduate student Jonathan Butler, who said he refused to eat until Wolfe resigned or he died of starvation.
Butler’s strike was in response to Wolfe’s inaction to respond to multiple instances of African-American students being harassed with racial slurs on campus and a swastika being drawn with feces in a resident hall bathroom.
African-American players on the Missouri football team took to social media to stand in solidarity with Butler on Saturday, refusing to participate in any football-related activities until Wolfe stepped down.
The rest of the Tiger football team, in conjunction with head coach Gary Pinkel and his staff, joined their teammates on Sunday in refraining from any football-related activities until Wolfe stepped down and Butler’s hunger strike ended.
Earlier Monday morning, K-State Today released a letter from Vice President for Student Life Pat Bosco reaffirming the university’s “commitment to respect, human dignity and social justice.”
Bosco went on to pledge “to educate, listen and respond to anything that interferes with success at our university. We know we are not perfect, but we care and want to do better. Our hearts of purple are extended to all who are working toward ending all kinds of discrimination on college campuses.”
