Michele Skalicky talks with Springfield Daily Citizen education reporter Joe Hadsall.
What is the university saying about why they made the decision to eliminate the bias response team?
Hadsall: They say that this was a team that didn't get used much to begin with. They noted in their statement that the last time the team met, it was September of 2025. Earlier, about a month ago, the university had decided to end the program, meaning it would have filled out the the rest of the year, which ends technically on June the 30th, and it would have disbanded after that. The lawsuit forced the university to just go ahead and make that an immediate cut.
Who is filing the lawsuit?
Hadsall: The lawsuit's being filed by a group called Defending Education. This is a national political group based out of Virginia that has — it's relatively new in its existence and has gone under several names, such as Parents Defending Education. They also have a sister organization called Speech First.
And what is the lawsuit about? What are they saying that Missouri State has done wrong?
Hadsall: The lawsuit is highlighting Missouri State's bias response team. They say that the mere existence of this group violates free speech because it exists and because it does what it does. People are not truly allowed to say what they feel. The three student plaintiffs in the lawsuit say that they are all conservative Christians who would like to be able to voice their opinions about issues such as transgender people and their biological identity. They also have opinions about gay marriage, about abortion and about immigration that they would like to air but feel like they can't say anything because the existence of the team might target them somehow. What is interesting is that the three students, it's unclear from the suit that they filed if they have been directly involved with the response team, either by being highlighted as the source of a complaint where they were trying to reach out as a source of mediation, or if they tried to use the team themselves to report the very grievances they say they're suffering.
Were you able to find out much about this bias response team and how active they are?
Hadsall: Yes, I learned some great information from a report that appeared on ksmu.org. The bias response team was created to handle a lower level of what were termed microaggressions. Things that didn't really rise to the to the level of a Title I violation. But it was created to give members of the campus community a way to report things. The team is educational in nature. It seeks to mediate and resolve and come from a basis of education where it can help through either discussions or classes or more education about things. The team was highlighted a few years ago here on Missouri State. Immediately after the presidential election, Black students across campus reported getting racist text messages, and racist graffiti was found in bathroom walls at a higher rate. The university encouraged the use of the bias response team to report situations like that.
Do we know anything more now that they've announced that it's ending, whether this lawsuit will go forward, or is that still to be determined?
Hadsall: Officials with Defending Education have said that they would be happy to drop the lawsuit if the university would simply disband the team. The advocacy group was also asking for preliminary injunctions to cease the team, and it was also asking for legal expenses for the students to be paid. Remains unclear what they'll do about that. What also remains unclear is where members of the campus community who might have used the team's response form will go now if they observe those kind of things. For instance, we spoke earlier about how the response team was highlighted whenever racist messages were sent to Black people after the 2024 presidential election. If similar instances happen, it's not immediately clear what students or faculty or staff members can do at this point. That's something I'm hoping to hear back from the university at a later time.
So, we'll wait to hear more. Thank you so much. And if somebody wants to read your story, how can they do that?
They can do so @sgfcitizen.org.
All right. Thank you for coming by.
Hadsall: Thank you for having me, I appreciate it.
