Mizzou Galvanizes Exeter Conversations

The University of Missouri’s Mel Carnahan Quadrangle was eerily deserted last Wednesday morning, according to The Washington Post. Only a few students scurried from building to building; the rest were missing, hiding at home or off-campus, fearful for their lives. Meanwhile, 1,348 miles away, Exonians took to social media, Academy bulletin boards and faculty meetings to discuss the dire situation at the University of Missouri—also known as Mizzou—and to begin conversations on campus concerning Exeter’s racial climate.

It all began when Northwest Missouri State freshman Connor Stottlemyre allegedly posted anonymously on the message app Yik Yak, “I’m gonna shoot any black people tomorrow, so be ready.” Several similar racially-charged, terroristic threats followed. Another anonymous post read, “I’m going to stand my ground tomorrow and shoot every black person I see.”

The Yik Yak posts followed shortly after a series of protests led by student activists that criticized the administration’s longtime negligence toward racist incidents on campus; this negligence ultimately led to the resignation of University President Tim Wolfe. The news of the grave situation at the University of Missouri spread across the nation, with protests erupting from Yale University to Ithaca College and more. While no imminent threats menaced the lives of Exonians that day, many believe Exeter is not exempt from racial struggles and oppression. The chain of events that unfolded at Mizzou has since sparked much dialogue regarding Exeter’s own racial climate among students, faculty and administrators.

“I thought that the posts were successful since many people also posted them, showing that they were also aware and also showing solidarity.”

Physical education instructor Olutoyin Augustus-Ikwuakor emphasized that the issue at hand is not just a distant, isolated problem at Mizzou or in higher education. “Exonians feel it here, too. I have stories of being threatened and made to feel unsafe in Exeter, New Hampshire,” she said. “We have to recognize our privilege and take responsibility for making change happen.”

Faculty started the first of many planned conversations on this topic in faculty meetings Monday, Nov. 16. These discussions are meant to illuminate the nature and extent of the racial tension on campus and determine a course of action that will promote a safer, more nurturing and inclusive environment. Augustus-Ikwuakor said that to achieve their goals, faculty will need to spend a lot of time simply talking with one another, opening up a dialogue to acquaint and immerse themselves with “the nature of this beast.”

Faculty will have an opportunity to do so at an Exonian Encounters event in the near future, she said. The Exonian Encounter Committee plans to host a faculty event, similar to those tailored for students (see “Student Forum Sheds Light on Privilege,” page A3) that will inspire faculty to embrace differences and foster connections. Augustus-Ikwuakor said that the process must be a joint effort between students and faculty. Dean of Multicultural Affairs Rosanna Salcedo emphasized the need to acquire “a common language to talk about issues of equity and diversity” among students and faculty, explaining that only then “can [we] understand each other and actually have a conversation.” Salcedo felt that students and faculty do not talk about the issue of racial inequity enough, and this has, in turn, led to feelings of alienation among some students. “There isn’t an awareness of how underrepresented students feel because there isn’t a space for them to express those feelings to the community,” Salcedo said. “We need to create more opportunities and more spaces for students to express how they feel.”

From there, a longer, more formidable process awaits: action. Although a crucial step, discussion cannot stand alone, Augustus-Ikwuakor said. “Right now, we are just thinking about how we want to handle it. We cannot just talk around it though,” she said. “I am hopeful that we will see real substantive change happen here on our own campus for those who feel unsafe and unheard.”

As the administration continues to discuss these issues, students have used social media to express their opinions and increase awareness. All over Facebook, Exeter students have published posts similar to the following: “To the students of color at Mizzou, we, student allies of Phillips Exeter Academy, stand with you in solidarity. To those who would threaten your sense of safety, everyone is watching. #‎ConcernedStudent1950 #‎InSolidarityWithMizzou.”

Several members of the faculty have lauded these attempts to increase publicity for the issue, saying that expressions of awareness and concern comfort students at the University of Missouri. “Re-posting the message of support must make the students at Mizzou feel less alone, especially after the death threat,” religion instructor Russell Weatherspoon said.

Likewise, Augustus-Ikwuakor supported the statements, describing them as “great.” At the same time, however, Augustus-Ikwuakor added that awareness must be coupled with “real work.” The emphasis on “doing” rather than “saying” rang true in the student body as well. Upper Kris Torres said that for the movement to be truly successful, students need to go beyond posting on social media and delve into the “real work” emphasized by Augustus-Ikwuakor.

“While I do commend the supporters on Facebook, I do not see many of these supporters taking action outside of the internet,” she said. “There are many ways to show support for POC and social activism, including spreading awareness via social media, but being an active ally in person is probably the most influential thing one can do.”

Upper Chris Agard expressed another concern regarding the posts. He felt that though the thought in itself was nice, many of the students who posted the status were not actually knowledgeable about the situation and simply felt socially pressured to share the news. In Agard’s opinion, the blind sharing of the news missed the point of spreading awareness and caused the posts to lose some of their original meaning. “I opted not to post the message because I personally would have felt fake in doing so, since I am not incredibly knowledgeable of what is going on,” he said.

Despite this, upper Tayo Zenger believed it was of greatest importance to display solidarity when addressing the issue of awareness. He applauded the “mini-movement” of the Facebook posts that the students partook in and considered it a great success. “I thought that the posts were successful since many people also posted them, showing that they were also aware and also showing solidarity,” he said.

Another outlet students used to spread awareness were the paper signs posted on the dining halls, the Academy building, the Academy center and several other locations. These signs, replicas of many of the Facebook posts, like the social media statements, were designed to spread awareness. Senior Cesar Zamudio started the campaign. “The point of this all was to create awareness of a relevant issue, pertinent to campus communities like ours, and although we might not deal with what the black students at Mizzou are experiencing, we are offering our solidarity and our support to them,” Zamudio said.

Although the events at Mizzou took place more than a thousand miles away, far from the perimeters of the Exeter bubble, many students felt immediacy and proximity to the issue. Torres explained that for students of color, they do not have the option to turn a blind eye to racial discrimination. Zenger added that the situation is especially heartfelt for him as he nears the college process himself. Students of color at Exeter will graduate and will attend colleges where similar situations such as those at Mizzou are occurring.

Despite the urgency that some feel, Torres said many students on campus may be under the false impression that the racial discrimination and unfolding of events at Mizzou do not affect them, because nothing seems to be happening to them directly or they do not see any obvious racial discrimination at the Academy.

However, Torres highlighted that the overarching ideas behind the issues at Mizzou are pertinent to the Exeter community. “The events at Mizzou are merely a reflection of the society that we live in. Exeter is a predominantly white institution that is not as culturally sensitive to as many things as we’d like to say we are,” Torres said.

Agard shared a recent experience that illustrated Torres’ comments of the immediacy of the problem. While Agard was walking in town, someone in a passing car screamed a racial slur at him. Agard described the experience as “sickening” but a “reality.” “When someone screams [a racial slur] at me from their car, they’re telling me that all they see is my brown skin and that I’m less than them because of that. Not even at my world-class institution am I safe,” Agard said.

Going forward, students and faculty alike have expressed the need to maintain conversation and awareness. While the initial heat of the uproar may have passed, the problem remains. “The hashtags died down, but that doesn’t mean the students of color at Mizzou and other institutions across this country aren’t still combating bigotry and discrimination,” senior Jade Moses said.

Salcedo said that the news may empower students and rally them to instill changes of their own in their community. “They think, ‘wow, look at these kids [at Mizzou].’ They’re young, and they’re students, but they’re actually making changes at their institutions. So, I can imagine that some students will feel empowered,” Salcedo said.