One hundred and two University of Mississippi faculty members have signed a letter expressing their concerns with how the university handled the disturbance that happened on election night. The letter was sent directly to Chancellor Dan Jones this past Friday.
The letter, which was initially drafted by political science professor Marvin Porter King, shows that the 102 faculty members who signed the letter are disappointed with how the university is moving forward after the protest.
“We want to see the administration do all it can do to get to the bottom of the situation,” King said. “We want the university to do all it can do to take the appropriate steps from letting something like this happen again.”
The Daily Mississippian has obtained a copy of the letter, but King requested it not be run in the newspaper.
“The main point of the letter was to express our concerns privately,” King said. “This whole thing is a process and has been from the very beginning. We do not want the letter to be run in the public eye until the appropriate steps have been taken.”
King and others felt obligated to send Jones the letter after hearing a wide range of emotions and concerns from students and other faculty.
“There are many faculty and staff who have been working aggressively since last Wednesday to address the election night event,” Jones said in a release Wednesday night.
“While I share the desire to move quickly, I’m very pleased with the work that’s been accomplished in just one week. There are two issues at hand: the election night event and the broader campus climate. We are focused on both, simultaneously, and I’m confident the broader campus community will join together in finding the best solutions.”
The university announced Wednesday that an Incident Review Committee will have a meeting today to determine what has already been discovered by the university about the disturbance and what else the university plans to do regarding the incident. King is one of 11 faculty members on the committee.
“Committee members will divide the work of the review in order to deliver the committee’s report expeditiously, with a goal of semester’s end,” a university press release said.
“The committee is expected to submit a final report to the vice chancellor of student affairs that establishes the facts of the election night events.”
King was enthused by the willingness of the university to work so quickly.
“I’m not sure if the (Incident Review Committee) was created because of our letter or not,” King said. “It is a great step to take in the entire process though.”
