Five days after an MU student was arrested for allegedly spray-painting a racial slur on a statue outside Hatch Hall, MU’s Chief Diversity Officer Roger Worthington will host a Difficult Dialogues panel on hate crimes from 1-1:50 p.m. today in the School of Law’s Moot Courtroom.
The panel will include law school professors Frank Bowman, Paul Litton, David Mitchell and Christina Wells.
Benjamin Elliott, a freshman, was arrested Feb. 12 on suspicion of second-degree property damage, according to MU Police. Video surveillance and statements from witnesses led to Elliott’s arrest, police said.
Earlier this week, Chancellor Brady J. Deaton placed Elliott on temporary suspension, pending the outcome of a student judicial process. At the conclusion of that process the temporary suspension will be lifted and a final sanction imposed.
In a Feb. 12 statement, Deaton said he was “dismayed and deeply offended” by the incident.
“I ask that we come together as a Mizzou family to deplore this action and to celebrate the diversity of our community as one of MU’s greatest strengths.”