The Legion of Black Collegians released a statement to its Instagram account on Oct. 13, giving the University of Missouri 30 days to address reports of multiple racist incidents on campus. 

The statement said that on Oct. 6, two students, including the Legion’s Executive Secretary, Kaelyn Washam and a Senator, were called racial slurs while walking near the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. In the post, the Legion also said that a similar incident occurred to a student walking home from a National Pan-Hellenic Council Step Show practice. 

According to the Legion, these are not isolated incidents, as several other students have come forward with similar experiences on campus. 

“This continues the overwhelmingly growing trend of Black students expressing fears of being on a campus that they paid for and furthers the feelings of distrust within the University,” Vice President Madison Ward said. “They cannot continue to be swept under the rug. We deserve so much more than that.”

The Legion filed an incident report with the MU Office of Institutional Equity on Oct. 12, and said that the university had 30 days to address and share the findings of its investigation. If the listed demands are not addressed within this time frame, the Legion stated that its plans moving forward are “confidential.”

In the statement, the Legion demanded that MU:

1. Escalates our incident report to a formal complaint and allows those affected to be given rights and options.
2. Honor our pre-scheduled meeting for the end of October.
3. Lays out extensive consequences of partaking in this foul behavior within the Division of Student Accountability and Support including but not limited to expulsion, suspension, removal from executive board activities, etc.
4. Maintains the usage of campus cameras routinely to monitor this behavior.
5. Puts out a statement revealing the outcomes of the investigation, condemns these incidents and previous ones, and lists out actionable steps the University’s students, faculty, and staff will take to prevent this incident from reoccurring.

University spokesperson Travis Zimpfer said in a statement that the University of Missouri Police Department and the MU Office of Institutional Equity are investigating each incident. 

Zimpfer also said that the drivers in both incidents have been identified as juveniles with no affiliation to the university, and have been trespassed from campus. This trespass prohibits the drivers from entering “university property outside of very specific circumstances, such as for a medical appointment,” Zimpfer said. 

“We do not tolerate discrimination and harassment on our campus,” Zimpfer said. “We encourage any member of our campus community who experiences this type of behavior to contact the Office of Institutional Equity. If you feel unsafe on campus, call MU police immediately. We all must work together to keep our community free of this unconscionable behavior.”

According to the statement from the university, UM System President Mun Choi sent a message to the Legion’s leadership on Oct. 15. The statement said Choi reached out to the affected students on Oct. 13 and proposed to meet with them to discuss how the university can support them. Choi also said that “video systems,” installed in June 2020, aided in identifying the suspects. 

“We are tired of having to be subjected to ignorant and close-minded white people who have nothing better to do than to find enjoyment out of the hurt and suffering of Black people,” the Legion said in its statement. “We will no longer stand idly by and minimize the experiences of our constituents and supporters as consequences of being Black at a [Predominantly White Institution].” 

Reporter Isaiah Pinzino contributed to this article.

Edited by Eric Hughes, Maya Dawson and Julianna Mejia | ehughes@themaneater.com, mdawson@themaneater.com and jmejia@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com 

Edited by Emilia Hansen | ehansen@themaneater.com 

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com