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Module 2 When Leadership Fails: Article Analysis

Arizona State University – OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations (2022 Fall – B)

Professor Brown

October 27, 2022

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University of Missouri President, Chancellor resign over handling of racial incidents:

After reading this article I felt disturbed by what was going on in Colombia at the

University of Missouri campus. The incidents that were taking place on campus were grotesque

and seemed to be swept under the rug by the university administration. When I found out that

many students weren’t even aware of some of the incidents it absolutely blew my mind. At that

point it seems clear that Tim Wolfe and others at the University of Missouri chose to ignore the

racists actions that continued to take place in hopes that their inaction would prevent further

anger over the incidents. When the school decided to ignore how members of the student body

felt, they were no longer doing their job. University officials earn their positions by putting the

needs of the student body and faculty first. Clearly the administrative team didn’t want to deal

with the situation and chose to act as if everything was fine and there was no racial tension on

campus.

I don’t know much about Tim Wolfe, but after reading a few articles about the situation

and his response to it, I think he most likely tells people he has certain values because they

would like to think their leader has those traits, not because he believes that he embodies those

traits. It would be hard to believe that any large university in the United States would hire a

university president that didn’t at least sat they had high moral integrity, the wellbeing of all

members of the institution at heart and promotes a racially diverse and inclusive campus culture.

My belief is that he said all the right things but when it was time for him to act, he failed

miserably. His experience in business would indicate that his strength is with helping the

university grow and making new deals for various buildings or different partnerships that may

help the school grow. However, his business minded approach may have led to him trying to
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make alumni and people of power happy rather than the majority of people that the university is

there to serve. I think that his approach seems out of touch and impersonal. When President

Wolfe started to run the University of Missouri like a business instead of an educational

institution, he no longer upheld the values that presidents usually adhere to and devastated many

members of the community when they realized the president didn’t care about what they were

going through or how they were feeling.

Former President Wolfe can serve as an example of how some people may not have the

necessary perspective needed to be able to appropriately address a situation like this. Wolfe tried

to keep everything going like a business trying to ignore a scandal. They acted as if nothing was

wrong and expected the people associated with the university to move on as if nothing happened.

There are many issues with handling a delicate situation at a university in this manner and the

entire country saw the result. Thousands of members of the University of Missouri community

were hurt and demanded that action take place. Once the president of the university established

that he would not doing anything to assist the campus members being discriminated against on a

semi-regular basis, many members of the University of Missouri community felt it was necessary

for him to be removed of his duties.

With all the racist incidents taking place throughout the state of Missouri during that

time, it was tone deaf of former President Time Wolfe to respond to the increasing racial tension

on campus by doing next to nothing. By deciding not to respond to the hate crime situations

appropriately, he fostered a campus environment that was full of fear and pain. Nobody should

have to feel like the black members of the University of Missouri felt at that time, helpless and

hopeless without a true leader. I respect and admire the actions of the students, staff, and others

involved to help institute change so that members of the black community can come to the
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University of Missouri campus to learn and grow as they should have always felt safe and

accepted to. Everything that happened in Colombia, Missouri can be used as a way for

everybody to recognize what changes are necessary for everybody to be able to grow and thrive

no matter what their race is.

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Current Affairs

I decided to watch “A Conversation about Growing Up Black” and it was eye opening.

Growing up I realized that black people were treated differently, but I had no idea to what extent,

or how early that discrimination started. Throughout the video it was abundantly clear that these

young men and kids were racially discriminate against and intimidated for no reason other than

how they looked. I cannot fathom how somebody can allow themselves to treat somebody so

poorly because of their race but it is happening constantly. In our society it seems like the

perpetrators of hate crimes and discriminating tactics feel like they are allowed to express

themselves in inappropriate ways because the people in charge are part of the problem.

Another important aspect of this video is the feeling that the police are against them

along with other racist individuals. This seems to leave many people in the black community

with a fear that they have less help and hope because of the underwhelming support from vital

members of their own local community that are supposed to be there to protect and serve all

individuals within their limits no matt what. I couldn’t imagine how much additional stress that

causes people within minority communities on a constant basis. The lack of officer

accountability for the unnecessary stops, searches, and killings have created a gang like

impression that alienates a large portion of our population due to the high number of racist

incidents they have accumulated over many decades. A common theme that I noticed in the

University of Missouri story and this one was that the lack of action to create a positive change

has damaged the psyche of people over time.

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There have been periods throughout history where many big changes take place that get

spark hopes for a better future. As seen throughout the video, many of the kids hope that they

won’t have to encounter different situations of racism, but they all inevitably have those

experiences. One student shocked me when he spoke about getting questioned by police on his

way to a class within his own school with other white classmates. I couldn’t imagine how

targeted, insulted, and degraded he may have felt as a result of this disgraceful interaction with

the police due to the color of his skin. Experiences like this on a frequent basis starting at a

young age would change any person’s view of society and damage their trust of the community

surrounding them. I’ve had one time in my life where I was wrongfully searched by the Gilbert

Police Department at 17 after “running a stop sign” and I know that one interaction negatively

affected how I felt about police officers. If I had to deal with that scrutiny along with the scrutiny

of random people I encounter every day, I can imagine I would be extremely anxious and

stressed.

I chose this article because the way children are treated affects their development as

people and can be a key influencing factor on their quality of life through adulthood. Also, I was

curious to hear more about the subject understanding that racism was experienced by kids, but I

really wanted to understand to what extent and at what age they realized how big a role racism

plays in our society. Once I realize that children of all ages are affected, it became clear that the

systemic racism present in the United States applies to all ages of minorities. Looking back on it

I’m not sure why I expected a hateful group of people to have any semblance of respect for

others, but I figured they would at least leave children alone. In my opinion, the most powerful

way people can address these people is by recording their behavior and displaying it for the

world to judge for themselves. If people are seen for who they truly are and must experience
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work and legal consequences because of their racist interactions on a more consistent basis, as

the law is written, then racially motivated hate incidents would decrease. Once people are aware

of which people are causing problems and how many people are causing these problems, society

will be able to take a step forward and leave these disgraceful characters behind us.
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Works Cited

Svrluga, S. (2015, November 9). U. Missouri president, chancellor resign over handling of
racial incidents. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/11/09/missouris-student-
government-calls-for-university-presidents-removal/

McLaughlin, E. C. (2015, November 9). University of Missouri president and chancellor step
down amid race row. CNN. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from
https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/09/us/missouri-football-players-protest-president-resigns/
index.html

Schuppe, J. (2015, November 9). Jonathan Butler: How a Grad Student's Hunger Strike Toppled
a University President. NBCNews.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jonathan-butler-how-grad-students-hunger-
strike-toppled-university-president-n460161

The New York Times. (2016, April 13). A Conversation on Race. The New York Times.
Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/your-
stories/conversations-on-race?nytapp=true