The UC offers assistance, nourishment and even recreation to students at the UT. Nearly all students and faculty members have to traverse through the UC and its main concourse connecting one side of campus to the other.
    
In order to give students a fun, creative outlet, the Central Program Council (CPC) decided to dedicate February to poetry sticks. The poetry sticks were velcro words applying to campus life as a UT student to allow students to put words together and create poetry.
    
Starting Feb. 1, the Office of Student Activities, Division of Student Life placed the poetry sticks on the walls of the UC concourse.
    
This was the poetry stick’s second annual incarnation. This year, CPC decided to remove roughly a hundred words from last year to minimize any sort of sexually implied inappropriate use of the poetry sticks. Despite the sexually charged misconduct of some students in 2011, the poetry sticks remained up for the entire month of February.
    
On Wednesday, the Office of Student Activities made the executive decision to cut the ongoing program and immediately remove the poetry sticks because of homophobic and racist remarks created by students.
    
Sarah Houston, senior in English literature and member of Cultural Attractions Committee, said that the poetry sticks were removed because “they had spotted a lot of racist and homophobic comments.”
    
“Since the UC is a public area, people cannot choose whether or not to walk through that area so it cannot be like an art gallery,” Houston said.
    
Houston said that there were several problems last year as well.
     
“I saw racier things with a wider variety of words that were available for students to use.”
    
The CPC and office staff members monitored the poetry sticks activity. The CPC relied on UT students to act responsibility and respectfully.
    
Some students, however, used the velcro words to convey negative ideas. Homophobic and racist remarks appeared constantly since the placement of the poetry sticks on Feb. 1.
    
Students filed several complaints throughout the past two weeks.
    
“One of the points of the poetry sticks is that you can change what it says,” Houston said. “The whole point is to change (the poetry) if you do not agree with it so you can say what you feel. There’s always the ability to change.”
    
Because of continuing problems with hateful language, the CPC made the decision to remove the exhibit. UT and CPC did not want to make students and visitors to the university feel uncomfortable.
    
“When you give students freedom of speech, college kids are bound to be offensive,” said Terika Greenlee, senior in psychology.
    
Despite the CPC’s effort to minimize harassing language, the poetry sticks were removed because of students’ abuse. The Office of Student Activities, Division of Student Life prides itself on being an equal opportunities office.
    
Hate speech is not tolerated by the CPC or by UT.