Mizzou

An estimated 41 million members of Generation Z became eligible to vote in 2024. In Missouri, millennial and Gen Z college students have been working to get these young potential voters registered and prepared to cast a ballot. Together, they’ve put in hundreds of hours of work on everything from statewide initiatives to experiments with individuals.

November’s election will decide half the seats on the Kansas Board of Education, which oversees public schools across the state. Those races could dramatically shift the board's political and ideological balance. Plus: University of Missouri students are worried about the future of diversity programs on campus.

University of Missouri's Black Studies Department demanded that MU Chancellor and UM System President Mun Choi apologize for suggesting the use of “Black” in an event name implies exclusion. The department also noted declining Black student enrollment.

The University of Missouri's Columbia campus plans to admit 6,243 first-year students this fall — an increase of 18% from last year. With limited dorm space, the university is contracting a nearby apartment complex to accommodate the new students.

UM System president Mun Choi said that the Department of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, which was established after protests about racial equality in 2015, will be dismantled and moved into other offices to reduce political visibility and protect its budget.

In the 1970s and '80s, students at the universities of Kansas and Missouri protested on-campus to demand their institutions divest from a racist government in South Africa. Now, they’re asking schools to withdraw funds that support Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

Students on University of Missouri campuses are protesting in solidarity with Palestinians under bombardment from Israel in the Gaza strip.

The University of Missouri System is halting the use of diversity statements in its hiring practices. UM President Mun Choi said in an email Monday that officials will now send a “values commitment” to job applicants instead of DEI statements.

Critics call Choi, who's both president of the UM System and chancellor of Columbia campus, a bully who has hurt morale and diversity. Among ranked faculty without administrative duties, 208 said Choi should not be retained as chancellor, compared to 87 who said he should remain.

K-State and KU women are going to the NCAA tournament, and Mizzou almost made it. Future tournaments look even more hopeful thanks to "a lot of talent" at high schools across the Midwest.

Students are adjusting to a campus life that includes COVID-19 policies.

Between breaking news on campus COVID-19 clusters and calling out university administrators, these budding reporters are doing some old-school journalism.