MSA Senate calls for statement for Melissa Click’s actions
The MSA Senate is calling on the University of Missouri to reevaluate the actions of Melissa Click.
Click is the assistant professor who was caught on camera trying to stop a student journalist from covering the recent MU protests. The assistant professor can also be heard calling for “muscle” to apparently remove the journalist.
That incident and the student protests have gotten national media attention and have been referenced in recent episodes of the animated Comedy Central show “South Park.”
Wednesday night, the MSA Senate passed a resolution calling for MU and the Department of Communication, where Click works, to officially address the issue and make a formal statement about it. The senators behind the resolution say the resolution is not meant to be personal.
MSA Sergeant at Arms Tim Davis says, “She’s not an evil person. She’s, a human being. She was trying to come from a good part in her heart, and I think she had the students’ interest (at heart), but just the way she came about it just rubbed some people wrong.”
MSA Senator Jeremy Wiggins says he just wants a statement from officials. He says, “As a student body, we should be asking for the University to comment on all the incidents that happen that involve students on campus.”
Late Thursday afternoon, Melissa Click told ABC 17 News she was unaware of the resolution and was unable to continue the conversation at the moment.
This is the language of the resolution:
A RESOLUTION TO PETITION THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ADMINISTRATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE TO REEVALUATE THE ACTIONS OF PROFESSOR MELISSA CLICK ON NOVEMBER 9, 2015 AND RELEASE A STATEMENT.
PURPOSE: For the University of Missouri administration and the Department of Communication of the College of Arts and Science to reevaluate and release a statement in regards to the actions of Professor Melissa Click on November 9, 2015.
WHEREAS: on November 9, 2015 Professor Click prevented a student journalist from taking pictures and reporting on the student protest ; AND
WHEREAS: In a video from another journalist she can be seen and heard calling for “muscle” to remove the University of Missouri Student that was recording the interaction ; AND
WHEREAS: The Department of Communication’s website states that, “The faculty members are keenly aware of our role in helping students appreciate and effectively negotiate the complex communication processes they encounter”; AND
WHEREAS: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution expressly protects the freedom of both speech and the press ; AND
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MISSOURI STUDENTS ASSOCIATION SENATE that the University of Missouri administration and the Department of Communication of the College of Arts and Science should reevaluate and release a statement in regards to the actions of Professor Melissa Click on November 9, 2015.
Respectfully Submitted, Jeremy Wiggins, MSA Senator & Tim Davis, MSA Sergeant At Arms
