At 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, the Director of the Multicultural Mentoring Program called UTPD to report an altercation taking place at “the Rock” on UT campus.
This altercation occurred between three males, who painted the rock red with messages including “Trump,” “MAGA” and “#nosafespaces,” and a group of students associated with the Multicultural Mentoring Program who were attempting to paint over these messages.
One of the first people to approach the group of males, Courtney Greene, sophomore in psychology and sociology, said the males allegedly set up office chairs in front of the Rock and “sat blocking the Rock with their hands on it.” The group of males then allegedly told the Multicultural Mentoring Program members they could only paint the sides or back of the Rock.
The confrontation between the two groups then became physical when one of the seated males shoved another student who was trying to paint over the pro-Trump message.
“They were making threats saying ‘If you paint over it and get paint on my jacket, I’m gonna have your ass,’” Dalton Teel, sophomore in agricultural communications, said. “I walked up and had a paint can and began painting.”
Teel said the wind was blowing, and some of the paint blew toward a seated male.
“He got out of his chair and started shoving me, trying to start a fight,” Teel said. “And that’s when people got into the middle of it and broke it up.”
Greene said UTPD and Dean of Students Melissa Shivers were then called to the scene.
Shivers said that she received a call from another staff member and went to the Rock to “make sure that everybody was OK.” She was only able to interact with the students associated with the multicultural group when she arrived.
University police received a report for simple assault that afternoon, and the case is currently under investigation. There were no injuries to report.
Members of the Multicultural Mentoring Program painted the rock with the message “We gon’ be alright” in reference to the Kendrick Lamar song “Alright.”
“Although this is not the outcome we wanted, we’re going to get up, and we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do,” Greene said. “We’re gonna stand strong.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
