By Friday, the tenor had shifted to healing, not hate.
Chancellor Dr. Brady Deaton and University of Missouri system President Dr. Gary Forsee visited informally with students over lunch at the center, eating pizza and wearing "Pick UNITY" buttons. Students planned a "United We Stand" rally on the steps of Jesse Hall, the main administration building, for Friday night.
Deaton described a "tremendous will to unite" and "not letting this event, as upsetting as it was, to derail forward movement."
For Lysaundra Campbell, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., the cotton ball protests and unity rallies have shown a campus supportive of its Black students.
"What these two guys did aren't the views of Mizzou," she said.
