Dear racists on Yik Yak,

Hello! I hope you’re doing well, even though I’m pretty sure you don’t care about if I am.

You’ve probably caught wind of the events happening on our campus, what with the response to racism at Mizzou, Jonathan Butler’s hunger strike, the push for UM system president Tim Wolfe’s resignation, the football team’s recent boycott and fecal swastikas just to name a few. I’m sure you, just like many of us, have felt very overwhelmed by the sheer amount of passion and controversy in which our school is now embroiled, and that’s okay. And while most of us have turned to intellectual discussion and have tried to educate ourselves on this deeply complex topic, you have chosen instead to take up the gauntlet of an anonymous social media app and say just what you felt needed to be said.

MSA President Payton Head has already complied a few of your insightful additions to the conversation:

And I just wanted you all to know just how we, your more open-minded peers, feel about your recent online activities.

Firstly, how dare you post these hateful, reprehensible comments on an open forum that you know is going to represent the University of Missouri in these coming weeks of mass media coverage. When the vast majority of us enrolled and moved to this campus, none of us had the intention of attending a school that would end up being so vocally ignorant of the struggles that many of us face on a day-to-day basis.

And we especially didn’t want to have to sit idly by as anonymous students post comments and “jokes” that would clearly better belong in the Jim Crow section if a history textbook. I think I speak for all of us when I say that you are the individuals that brought conflict to our beloved campus, not the students who have the bravery to stand up to this oppressive culture.

Secondly, I just wanted to remind you, as an official resident of a state far outside the Midwest, that there is a longstanding stereotype that Missouri and its southern neighbors are at the epicenter of widespread ignorance, racism, both blatant and structural, and a general culture of black oppression that has failed to resolve itself since national legislation nearly 50 years ago. And you, alleged students of a higher education, are perpetuating that ugly, ugly stereotype that I’m sure everyone here wants to dispel.

After the fiasco you’ve caused, do you want to tell people that you attended this school, which is rapidly accruing a national reputation of hate and inactivity? I know that I’m not proud of us, or specifically, you. I have to go home to my family over the holidays and try to convince people that Missouri is not full of white supremacist, ignorant, racial slur-throwing idiots. And these yaks you’ve authored aren't going to make that any easier for me or anyone else trying to maintain a good reputation.

And finally, I’m going to be completely honest and say that you scare me. These terrible things you’ve said guarded behind a screen of anonymity have scared me. This culture of racism has made me fear for my physical and mental safety, since I don’t know if I’m going to be the next victim of a racially-motivated incident. You’ve managed to make all students of color, black or otherwise supremely uncomfortable. And I’d like to reiterate that no matter how much you disagree with Concerned Student 1950, they wouldn’t even be an organization if it wasn’t for people like you.

But I think most of all, I’m scared that the ones posting these hateful things against people of my race are people I thought were my friends and acquaintances. I know that you’re not all walking around campus with Neo-Nazi and Klan paraphernalia; you probably look like an average college student and not what a stereotypical racist presents themselves as.

The realization that the person who posted “N*g fest at speakers circle” could be that girl I make small talk to in lecture, or the guy in my group project or that person I buy a shirt from at the student store. It’s horrifying to think that Mizzou’s apparent oppression is so ingrained that I wouldn’t know until it was too late.

But, I’ll leave you with a little piece of hope that you’ve probably unintentionally bestowed upon me, personally. You see, a few decades ago this kind of speech wouldn’t need to be hidden behind a veil of secrecy. But now, it seems like despite what you’re saying, you clearly know just how f*cked up your opinions actually are. And I guess, in the storm surrounding the university, that’s a good thing.

Sincerely,

Nicky Cook

Biracial Student who isn’t here for your bullsh*t