Melissa Click, the University of Missouri professor under fire for trying to keep a student photojournalist from covering a campus protest, has resigned her "courtesy appointment" at the journalism school.
University system President Tim Wolfe resigned on Monday after protests over his and the institution's handling of racial incidents on campus, said
ESPN. The protests eventually included a threatened boycott by the school's football team.
Attention then shifted to the actions of Click, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, and another staffer who confronted journalists at the university's Mel Carnahan Quadrangle where the protesters, called Concerned Students 1950 were camped out, according to the
Columbia Missourian.
In a video viewed nearly two million times on YouTube, Click was seen asking for assistance and for "muscle" to remove junior Mark Schierbecker, who filmed the interaction.
The video also showed Janna Basler, the university's Greek Life and Leadership assistant director, pushing and berating student photographer Tim Tai, according to the Missourian.
The journalism school's dean, David Kurpius, told the Missourian that Click resigned during a meeting of the school's executive committee on Tuesday night before a vote was taken on her status at the school.
Before her resignation, Click issued an apology about the incident.
"Yesterday was an historic day at MU – full of emotion and confusion," said Click. "I have reviewed and reflected upon the video of me that is circulating, and have written this statement to offer both apology and context for my actions. I have reached out to the journalists involved to offer my sincere apologies and to express regret over my actions."
Missouri's journalism school executive committee said in a statement that the video showed that its student journalists "acted professionally when faced with a difficult scenario," noted the Missourian.
The
St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Basler posted an apology on the Greek life group's Facebook page, in part reading: "I regret how I handled the situation, and I am offering a public apology to the journalist involved."
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