Students express frustration over slow changes at MU

During a second day of meetings, the UM Board of Curators invited a panel of students to talk about campus diversity.

Students said they’re frustrated with the lack of action since November, and they haven’t seen any policy changes come from leadership.

It’s been about 3 months since the protests, and students said they haven’t seen any new programs that address discrimination on campus.

UM leadership said change like this takes time.

Much of the morning open session was spent discussing diversity, an issue pushed to the forefront after the racial unrest that came to a head last semester.

The board heard from a student panel put together by the interim Chancellor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

On Thursday, Concerned Student 1950 disrupted the Curators meeting to reiterate a list of demands they made last semester.

UM System leadership said diversity is crucial and something they have been working on.

“Some of these issues are already moving forward, and next week we’re going to be interviewing candidates for the chief diversity officer. The president has set aside nearly $1 million in funding for these initiatives. We’ve already got the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force in place,” said Pam Hendrickson, UM Board of Curators Chair.

Among some of the initiatives to promote diversity, a diversity education course for new students, as well as a new lecture series about the African American experience.