As reported Monday, the protests by student activists, faculty, and athletes at the University of Missouri over racial incidents on campus led to the ouster of President Tim Wolfe. Wolfe resigned amid concerns that the University did not respond to a string of racial tension, epithets, and threats on campus that predated the incidents this fall that sparked the current protests. However, recent reports of campus events on the evening of Tuesday, November 10 indicate that the tensions and incidents of racism on the campus are far from over.
According to several students and news outlets, racist comments and threats began appearing in messages on Yik Yak, a mobile app that students use to comment anonymously. Students took screenshots of some of the offending messages, which included threats to harm black students.
Some students also heard rumors about Ku Klux Klan presence on campus. While these rumors are unsubstantiated by Missouri University Police, they did contribute to a general sense of lack of security on campus. Students like Jonathan Butler, the protest leader and the hunger striker who helped bring attention to the cause, reported that individual students faced anonymous death threats.
Although MU Police reported early Wednesday morning that they had apprehended a suspect who posted threats on Yik Yak and that the suspect was not near campus, the tension remains. At least one professor, Dale Brigham, faced outcries after refusing to allow threatened students the ability to make up a test. However, Brigham recanted under pressure.
Regardless of the genesis of the threats, it is obvious that student safety is the most important consideration now. MU Police report increased campus vigilance and response to the threats. However, it remains to be seen when, if at all, black students on campus will be able to feel safe from the kinds of threats and epithets that spurred protests in the first place.