Suspect Arrested After Making Racial Threats

In addition to the recent acts of racism Mizzou has been experiencing, last night students came across a “terrorist threat” made on an anonymous social media app, Yik Yak. The threats were made by a student attending Missouri University of Science and Technology, in Rolla, Mo., about 94 miles south of Columbia. The post threatened that the person would: “shoot every black person I see” while another message stated: “Some of you are alright. Don’t go to campus tomorrow.”Others allegedly used racial epithets as they drove around the school, and a group of men walking with bandannas covering their faces yelled racial slurs at black students.

Coming from a predominantly white university, I have experienced my share of racism on campus and it isn’t fair that one who attends the school to advance their education, can’t do so respectfully. These individuals should be taken in immediately. Black students have the same rights as whites to attend any college as they please, the universities admit them and accept their tuition money, so why should they have to worry about their security while attending class?! A $4,500 bond is not enough to guarantee those students that they will be safe. Increased security?! That doesn’t account for the increased social media threats.

For the university to state “there is no immediate threat to the campus” and asked students not to spread rumors. Now, in fall 2012, Mizzou enrolled the most diverse freshman class to date. Their black student enrollment rose 8 percent. Now, at roughly 2,500 blacks and over 27,000 whites based on their Fall 2014 stats, that’s 8 percent of the campus who DO feel an immediate, direct threat. These ARE NOT rumors, these should be considered terrorist attacks, NOT a 14-year old could build a clock and be taken in for the speculation of it being a bomb.

In a country where our BLACK presidents’ term is ending, I stand with those students attending Mizzou and I hope for a more diverse faculty in addition to an investigation of the racial tension that has increased over the years.