Through email correspondence and public statements in the Oct. 20 Missouri Students Association Town Hall, Mun Choi, UM System president and MU chancellor, has responded to the coalition of eight student organizations and two community organizations who rallied in defense of bodily autonomy on Oct. 6.
Mizzou’s chapter of YDSA, an organization in the coalition, received two emails from MU administration — one from Choi on Oct. 11, and another from The Board of Curators on Oct. 12. Though he explicitly stated he would not respond to the coalition’s three demands specifically, Choi stated he would “engage in a dialogue” with the coalition.
The Board of Curators email stated, “The Board of Curators has reviewed your letter and recommends that you engage in constructive dialogue with the President of the University of Missouri system.”
MU administration sent the emails after YDSA emailed the coalition’s demands to both Choi and the UM System Board of Curators on Oct. 8.
On the three demands, Choi directly told coalition members after the town hall that the university, and organizations within it, would not be making a statement on the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, saying that getting support from the state government is “critically important.” He also suggested having a meeting with MU Health officers to discuss contraceptives.
The Oct. 6 protest, part of a larger national day of action led by the Graduate Student Action Network and the national chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America, raised three demands of MU’s administration: Provide free contraceptives to all students free of charge, including physical contraceptives and the Plan B pill, end censorship of the campus social justice centers, such as the Women’s Center and the LGBTQ Resource Center, and issue a statement condemning the Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
The coalition has given the university until Nov. 7 to act on these demands.
According to YDSA chair Galen Zavala Sherby, the organization has agreed to engage in dialogue with Choi and his colleagues if two conditions are met: Every student organization in the coalition be represented in the conversation and the meeting be held in a public setting.
The coalition’s second demand — that the censorship of social justice centers come to an end — is in part based on the experiences of students like Noura Alhachami, president of coalition member Stronger Together Against Relationship and Sexual Violence. While working at the Women’s Center this past summer following the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, she was directly told that student workers were only allowed to comment on the decision outside of their capacity as center employees, and that faculty were not allowed to comment at all.
MU News Bureau Director Christian Basi confirmed the social justice centers’ inability to comment on legislative decisions, saying that no university departments or employees of the university are permitted to make a responding statement on behalf of the university, while they may comment as an individual.
Basi also made a statement on university policies in relation to the coalition’s demands.
“As a university we do not take a stance on political issues unless there was a direct impact on the university,” he said. Basi defined direct impact as “things that are specific to higher education, or deal with [MU’s] budget, or have a specific situation on a particular program.”
According to Alhachami, the demand for a response to the Dobbs v. Jackson decision still stands.
“Even if you can’t publicly comment on the legislation itself, which I do understand, there could still be some sort of message to students about, ‘Here are some of your resources,’” Alhachami said. “Just something to remind students that the administration acknowledges that this changes things for students.”
Zavala Sherby considers MU’s lack of comment on the Dobbs v. Jackson decision as its response.
“Silence is violence,” he said. “We truly believe that standing by while something unjust is happening and saying nothing while you have institutional power is an act of violence.”
Zavala Sherby also said the coalition believes the Dobbs v. Jackson decision goes beyond the judicial and legislative realm.
“The university should be capable of at least recognizing that there has been an impact [on students],” he said. “That shouldn’t be seen as a political statement.”
According to Basi, the Dobbs v. Jackson decision did not change the way MU Health Care operates. He said that per state law, the university’s health care system does not use resources, funds, people, or facilities to facilitate an abortion, unless the life of the mother depends on it, reiterating that this has been in practice since before the judicial decision.
Alhachami is skeptical of whether the coalition will see the change it seeks.
“The only way to get change from the university is to make the university scared,” she said. “I feel like it’s going to be sort of a redirection rather than a direct acknowledgment of what we want.”
Many members of the Mizzou Coalition for Bodily Autonomy also attended MSA’s Oct. 20 town hall to discuss their concerns with administrators. Choi, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies Jim Spain, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Bill Stackman, MSA president Josiah Mendoza, MU Chief Business Officer Rhonda Gibler, Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Maurice Gipson and MUPD chief Brian Weimer were panelists.
Here is a full breakdown of the Oct. 20 MSA town hall.
Coalition members placed pamphlets reiterating their three demands on every seat in Stotler Lounge in preparation for the town hall, reminding that leadership at the university has until Nov. 7 to act on them. According to Zavala Sherby, the coalition is planning to hold another rally if they are not able to publicly meet with Choi prior to this date.
When asked when the university would release a statement on the Dobbs v. Jackson decision during the town hall’s Q&A session, Choi said that as a public institution, the university does not comment on issues with political implications. He extended this to the Women’s Center as well, citing its position as an organization within the university.
“[The Dobbs v. Jackson decision] affects more than just students… this public institution that gets significant support from the state, at a tune of about $500 million dollars, relies on that support for the very programs that… improve student lives,” Choi announced to the room. “As an individual that represents the institution, I have to look out for the best interest of the institution.”
Zavala Sherby reflected on the responses from panelists during the town hall, saying, “it was all platitudes.”
“Obviously being public figures, many of them having been public figures for decades, they are very well versed in how to sound calm, cool, and collected and say absolutely nothing of substance,” he said.
Following the town hall, coalition members spoke with Choi about their demands, as well as their intended dialogue. According to Zavala Sherby, Choi is presently willing to engage in a private meeting with representatives from the eight student organizations involved in the coalition, before deciding if a public meeting is necessary. Zavala Sherby doesn’t know what next steps will be following this conversation, but he said that the coalition will be meeting as soon as possible to discuss them.
The coalition plans on continuing to push for its demands and pursuit of a public dialogue with administrators.
Edited by Emma Flannery | eflannery@themaneater.comCopy edited by Sterling Sewell and Jacob Richey | Jrichey@themaneater.com