**”So what happened at MU?”**
A lot. So much happened at MU I couldn’t possibly tell you all the ways that my freshman year was messed up. It all began with one brave graduate student who was fed up with the pain that our students have to go through; he refused to eat until former UM System President Tim Wolfe was removed. Then there was the football team who went on strike in support of Jonathan Butler (the graduate student) and seemed to receive more notoriety in the national news than the hunger strike. That shows you how important one man’s life is to society in comparison to Saturday Football. And though the team’s efforts and support were brave and valiant, some of the members still didn’t understand why their practice was cancelled because they had no idea what was happening on campus. Even worse, some of them didn’t even care what happened on campus, because it does not apply to their Mizzou Athletics Training Complex bubble or their privileged athlete lifestyle.
There were protests, marches, demonstrations and town hall meetings. I have never seen a community so in sync with each other than I saw in those few weeks. But one night, we found ourselves in the middle of what we considered to be a race war, with threats to black students and black students self-evacuating residence halls. Meanwhile, official MU Twitter accounts continued to downplay the severity of the situation. To us, it was a lie and a betrayal. After that fearful night, people rallied together, visited campus in support of black students, and across the world, people stood with MU. I’d tell you more, but I have to eat my food.
**”Where are you going to transfer?”**
Nowhere. I’m staying right here. I’m not gonna let them punk me into leaving. I don’t know many people who are leaving, and if they are, it’s probably not because of these people.
**”Why would you want to stay?”**
Because I strongly believe that the people here at MU are meant to be here. Whether we are here to learn or to teach, we have a role. And I believe that my role here is to both teach and learn. A young leader must be cultivated, but there are those who are in dire need of teaching when it comes to race relations. Not to mention that the courage and strength of this community of black people is something I would never want to separate from. The students in this community started this revolution to change the predominantly white institutional culture and attitude toward black students. The students in this community run the only black student government in the country. The black students in this community are so determined that I would never want to surround myself with anything less.
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These questions were what I dreaded more than anything during Thanksgiving. Not that they were intrusive or troubling, but I was back home to take a break. Ever since the hunger strike, people around the country have been asking about the same stream of events. I don’t mind explaining that happened, but I still need peace. Students who have been on campus need peace and quiet for a good minute. Gosh, this was a hell of a semester as an incoming freshman at MU. Having obligations and being on your own are new for many of us, but this “racism is OK” attitude at MU is tiring and tragic. In my opinion, allowing white students to do as they please lessens MU’s credibility as an institution and discredits its ability to turn out high-thinking and functional members of society. MU, so far, has failed their students. We only hope, in time, it may get better.