MSA senate sides with Black student group in dispute with MU administration
Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Students Association passed a resolution in support of the Legion of Black Collegians, after the group’s “Black 2 Class Block Party” was canceled after University of Missouri administrators took issue with the name.
Mizzou Legion of Black Collegians shared last month on its social media that its “Black 2 Class Block Party” was canceled after administrators took issue with the name. Last August that the university forced them to change its annual “Welcome Black BBQ”, which the event has been called for over two decades, to the “Welcome Black and Gold BBQ.”
At the time, a university spokesman said the change was made because it did not want to exclude “or give impressions that we are excluding individuals with different backgrounds.”
Choi spoke about the decision during a Sept. 11 Faculty Council meeting, saying that the university needed to be “inclusive of all” and that he did not want to limit any one group from participating.
“It should be open to all, and we cannot have any programs at the university that give a preferential benefit to one demographic group compared to another group. That’s Title IX,” Choi said during the meeting.
Choi added that he met with the students, who made it well known that they were not happy with the name change. However, after the barbecue saw a record turnout with more than 800 students, Choi says that the University was planning to sponsor the same event this year alongside the LBC, before the group informed him they wanted to host a “Black 2 Class Block Party” instead.
“We said, ‘Well, first of all, the name is concerning because you may give the impression that it is only for a certain demographic at the university,’” Choi said during the Sept. 11 meeting. “And we said, ‘No, you cannot have it by the way, you have the barbecue that you have been sponsoring for the past several years, said we want to do together with you.’”
The “Welcome Black and Gold BBQ” still occurred on Aug. 29, but the LBC withdrew from participating. Choi added that the university told the LBC that it could not host its planned “Black 2 Class Block Party” on school property, but could have it on their own premises using their own resources.
Following the cancelation, the LBC demanded that the university:
Release a campus-wide message addressing the decision
Hold a town hall within 60 days
Publicly condemn racial harassment
Choi responded in a statement that the school will not respond to demands, but university leaders will meet with the LBC “to continue this discussion.”
The move caught the attention of the Missouri Students Association, which passed a senate bill under its student government on Wednesday, supporting the demands of the LBC.
SB65-02 A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE LEGION OF BLACK COLLEGIANS (1)Download
The resolution says:
“MSA finds that the Black 2 School Block Party was an event open to all University students with the intent to create a welcoming and safe community, especially for those students who are too often victims of racial discrimination, namely Black students.”
Later, adding that the University of Missouri violated the anti-discrimination policy by taking adverse action against Black students, writing:
“The Univserity of Missouri flagrantly violated Chapter 600.010 of the Collected Rules and Regualtions of the University of Missouri System, by terminating the ‘Legion of Black Collegians’ (LBC) event entitled “Black 2 School Block party for the sole stated reason that the event included the word “Black” in its title, thus constituting an act that “Adversely affects…education…or participating in a University activity.”
MSA Press Release on Senate Bill 65-02 Resolution in Support of LBC (1)Download
The Missouri Students Association wrote in a statement that while it acknowledged the administration’s “firm stance on not complying with the Legion demands,” the two groups will continue working together to find solutions to address “the uptick in incidents of racially-motivated harassment and hate speech seen across campus.”
A spokesman from the university declined to comment, saying that there is no further action planned.
A spokesman from the university declined to comment, saying that there is no further action planned.
On Sept. 4, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter arguing that restricting the LBC from campus was a violation of their First Amendment rights.
“The title of the event that the group chooses for itself is speech. There was never any accusation that the event itself was going to be racially exclusive. The school acknowledged that the event was going to be open to all the group was very clear, ‘this is an event for everyone, but it was merely based on the use of the word black in the title that the school forced the group to cancel the event,” Jessie Appleby, an attorney for FIRE, told ABC 17 News. “The school itself has a facility called the Black Cultural Center. They have Black studies courses. They have other buildings and courses that have different races or ethnicities or other identity markers in the title. No one assumes that because, say, the Italian festival is called the Italian festival, that no one other than Italians can attend.”
FIRE claims the university responded to the letter, doubling down on its stance, saying that the event could turn into a “hostile environment.”
“I know something like this, the title of an event can seem like a small issue, not a big deal, but these things matter,” Appleby said. “Student groups are important to a lot of students, and they create spaces where students can express themselves. Universities really need to leave that to students and not try to police what they say.”