Rally held by LU alumni at Capitol in tribute of VP of student affairs who died
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A rally took place Thursday at the Missouri Capitol by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Lincoln University Alumni Association.
The rally was held as a tribute to former Vice President of Student Affairs Antoinette "Bonnie" Candia-Bailey, who died by suicide on Jan. 8.
The university has drawn criticism from some students following Candia-Bailey's death. Candia-Bailey left a memo on the day of her death outlining several complaints over university President John Moseley, prompting students to protest.
Mosley volunteered to be put on administrative leave. The university went with Stevie Lawrence, provost and vice president of academic affairs, to serve as acting president. The Board of Curators ordered a third-party review of the personnel issues and mental health concerns.
On Jan. 18, the Lincoln Board of Curators announced that a group of attorneys from the Lewis Rice Law Firm would review personnel issues.
The group on Thursday was advocating for systemic change, transparency and accountability from the university. Students have protested consistently since January.
"The importance of today was actually getting insight into how we can move forward and just getting into details of the strategy we need to take and the way we need to go about things; instead of just having a protest and not understanding the different routes that we need to take,” LU Student Government Association President Kenlyn Washington said. “Today was a learning experience for us to know what to do next and about the next steps. "
