Mizzou Black Students: 'We Are No Longer Taking It'

Student protests at the University of Missouri over how racially charged incidents have been handled by school leaders have ramped up over the semester and reached a peak with 32 black football players now refusing to participate in team activities until the president is removed. It's the latest controversy at the state's flagship university, following the removal of graduate students' health care subsidies and an end to university contracts with a Planned Parenthood clinic. "We are no longer taking it. It’s time to fight," said the Legion of Black Collegians in a statement, per NBC News.

Several members of the football team tweeted the team's statement Saturday night. "Never thought I would be in place or time like this to actually make a difference," tweeted one. Campus groups and Jonathan Butler, a black graduate student nearly a week into a hunger strike, have criticized university President Tim Wolfe over the handling of issues of race and discrimination. Wolfe met with Butler and student groups last week; NBC notes that some 17% of students identify as minorities. (More University of Missouri stories.)