The students were protesting the Missouri State University Board of Governors' recent decision to keep the newly inaugurated President Biff Williams in office. They chanted slogans like "hey, hey, ho, ho, President Biff has got to go!" and "what are we? Bears! Bears against Biff." One student handed out stickers, one of which read, "what do we want? NO BIFF. When do we want it? NOW."
The Board of Governors' decision came after the faculty senate voted "no confidence" in Williams following the filing of a lawsuit in federal court in Utah. Williams is one of several defendants named in the lawsuit, which alleges that Utah Tech, which Williams led before coming to Springfield, "openly flouted the protections of Title IX."
"I feel like now it’s our turn as students to say ‘no, this university actually isn’t just going to overlook this issue,' " said Anna, one of the protesters. She said that, while she wasn’t expecting high turnout, she’s pleased with the group of students who did show.
"I heard one of them was taking off of work to be here – I don’t know how that happened!" she said.
The MSU Faculty Senate voted 36 to 12 the week before Thanksgiving on a resolution of no confidence in Williams. The next day, the MSU Board of Governors announced their decision to keep the new president.