WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials were slow to handle racial incidents at the University of Missouri, and that contributed to protests, a student hunger strike, a threatened boycott by the football team and ultimately, the resignations of two administrators. "[...] acts of hatred are inimical to our most fundamental values and represent an assault on the mutual respect essential to our purposes as a community of learning and inquiry," Faust said a day after that happened. The Education Department's civil rights office fielded 53 racial harassment complaints from postsecondary schools in the 2007-2008 budget year, a number similar to previous years going back to 2004. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the fast response to racial incidents, a campuswide statement of values to help set a tone for students, and support for student-led initiatives can help episodes from overwhelming campuses. University President David Boren immediately condemned the video and two students were expelled. [...] the university has instituted mandatory diversity courses for all freshmen and transfer students.