Top University of Tennessee administrators promised to change the way students and faculty are trained on diversity, and pledged other changes as the university responds to a racially-charged image that made the rounds on social media last week.
An estimated 200 students and faculty gathered in a ballroom at UTK’s Student Union Monday afternoon for an open dialogue in response to the incident. Interim Chancellor Wayne Davis and others fielded questions from students and faculty for more than three hours.
Two people believed to be UT students appeared in a Snapchat image that became public last Thursday. That afternoon, UT condemned the photo, calling it repulsive. But some students asked for a more robust response, so the university arranged the dialogue session.
Students who spoke at the event demanded concrete changes from UT administration and said university leaders weren’t doing enough to prevent racial incidents. Davis and UT vice chancellors Vince Carilli and Tyvi Small said they were working on doing what they could. They cited the recent reconfiguring of UT’s office of diversity, after lawmakers defunded its predecessor in 2016.
Administrators also promised diversity training for themselves and faculty. They also expressed interest in creating diversity-inspired general education requirements for students.
Some students at Monday’s dialogue were alarmed that UT’s code of conduct does not directly condemn race-based harassment. Vice Chancellor for Student Life Vince Carilli discussed reviewing the code of conduct to potentially include language involving race. He is not part of the disciplinary process, should there be one, for the students involved.
The chancellor’s cabinet offered no timeline for when these changes would come.
Many attendees called for the expulsion of the students who appeared in the photo, but Carilli said that was not likely. He noted while the university does not condone the racist expression, expulsion may run afoul of First Amendment rights. Multiple students rejected his analysis, pointing out the university restricts other rights, such as barring gun owners from bringing their firearms on campus.
The dialogue ended after students finished their questions and statements. The News Sentinel reported Monday night that a group of UT leaders and students will determine diversity goals and report back in two weeks' time.
This story was reported by WUOT News student assistant Levi Johnson.