The University of Missouri's president has resigned amid controversy over his handling of racial tensions on campus that prompted several black football players to pledge not to take the field until he stepped down. Tim Wolfe resigned as student protests mounted, saying it was important for students and faculty to “heal, not to hate,” and to move forward. “I'm resigning as president of the University of Missouri system,” Wolfe said. “It's the right thing to do.” “I take full responsibility for this frustration and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred,” he said at a press conference. Racial slurs have been directed at black students. In October, a swastika was drawn with human faeces on a dormitory wall, according to media reports. Over the weekend, dozens of black players on the university's high-profile football team said they would boycott team activities, including a major game next Saturday, until Wolfe either stepped down or was removed. Head coach Gary Pinkel backed his players. Shortly after Wolfe's announcement, Pinkel said team activities were resuming immediately and Saturday's game was on. “We are hopeful we can begin a process of healing and understanding on our campus,” the coach said in a statement, Missouri media reported. The school protest caught the attention of the White House, with spokesman Josh Earnest noting how the campus “has really rallied together,” and that they are not alone. “There are discussions about some of these issues that are taking place in campuses all across the country,” Earnest said. The row comes as the United States grapples with mounting tensions between white police officers and African-Americans, including several cases of police shooting unarmed black citizens, and other race-related controversies. Frustration surged in August 2014, when a white police officer shot and killed unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, a mostly black suburb of St Louis, Missouri's second largest city. That shooting triggered weeks of sometimes violent unrest in Ferguson and nationwide, fueled the Black Lives Matter movement and opened a national conversation about racism and police tactics. Nicole Monnier, a professor of Russian at Missouri, said some campus tensions could be linked to the Ferguson riots. “A lot of students on our campus come from the Ferguson area, which is only 100 miles (160km) away from the university,” she told CNN. “There were a couple of peaceful protests on campus in support of Ferguson and in honor of Ferguson. And that sparked some reaction on social media, and even on campus, that really galvanised the African-American students.” Last week, graduate student Jonathan Butler announced he was going on a hunger strike until Wolfe was removed, declaring campus “an unlivable space.” Butler expressed jubilation after Wolfe's announcement. “This is only the first step! More change is to come!!” he tweeted.
