KNOXVILLE – A draft report on campus civility is being circulated at the University of Tennessee after a couple of incidents of intolerance, including a case where black high school students touring the campus said bananas were thrown at them.
In another case, cotton balls were scattered on the lawn of the Black Cultural Center after Barack Obama was elected president.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports there have been lesser-known instances in which racial and homophobic slurs have appeared on campus walls and dormitory doors.
University chancellor Jimmy Cheek created a task force following the incidents and its draft report includes a review of current policies on derogatory language, encouraging people to report incidents of bias even if they are not criminal, and creating wristbands, T-shirts and slogans to market the campaign for civility.
The report also encourages lectures on civility by prominent administrators, faculty and coaches.
Ja’Nay Bryant was giving a tour a year ago and was leading more than a hundred black high school students on a walk across campus when bananas were thrown in their direction.
“A light bulb went off in my head that I’m black and somebody did something to me because of something I couldn’t control – the color of my skin,” said Bryant, who earned a psychology degree in December and is completing a degree in Africana studies.
“It took away my individuality,” Bryant said of the incident.
The next month, Cheek asked the campus to help investigate all incidents of bias and called on students to promote civility.
The UT campus was integrated 50 years ago. Theotis Robinson was one the university’s first black students in 1961. He is now vice president for equity and diversity in the UT system.
“The university exists inside a larger community,” Robinson said. “Students come here from a larger community and they bring their baggage with them.”
Bryant is swift to say intolerance is not typical among people at UT.
“This is not who we are,” said Bryant. “There may be individuals who feel that way, but overall at UT, we are a community and we help those within our community regardless of race, color or creed.”
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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com