Several hundred students at Alabama State University held a series of rallies Tuesday to protest the ouster of the new president, Joseph Silver, who was placed on leave on Monday, Alabama.com reported. Silver has said that he was trying to remove some administrators and to fix problems at the university, while board leaders have been vague about why he was placed on leave. Students said that they trusted Silver and believed he was identifying serious issues. "They want Dr. Silver to sweep it under the rug," said one student. "But he was trying to clean it up. He was trying to take out the trash."