It isn’t news to UT students that the Fort has a bad reputation — but the newly formed Fort Sanders Task Force isn’t just an answer to a Joan Jett song.
UT’s student legislators have determined an unregulated Fort Sanders, which is plagued by a history of sporadic shootings and shady drug dealing, may compromise the safety of university students.
SGA has approved of the Fort Sanders Task Force by partnering with UT Police Department, the Knoxville Police Department, City of Knoxville officials, graduate students and neighbors in the Fort Sanders community to improve safety and enhance communication between Fort Sanders and the university.
Over the course of the next two semesters, the task force, compromised of seven students and seven non-students, is scheduled to hold three meetings that will devise a plan to present before the UT administration that will include solutions to improve relations between the Fort Sanders neighborhood and UT.
One of the solutions the task force hopes to accomplish include improving the T-link system by reducing wait time for students and expanding its routes to encompass a larger area. It would also like to educate students about how to handle potentially dangerous situations as well as to communicate to students that university rules still apply to them even though they may be living off campus.
SGA president Will Freeman, senior in agricultural leadership, education and communication, said he is excited some of the biggest issues pertaining to safety and transportation in the Fort will finally be addressed by a congregating body.
“It’s cool to see this come forward because this is exactly what needs to be done to at least address these issues near campus,” Freeman said. “This is pretty huge for us.”
However, Freeman said one of the biggest difficulties faced by the new task force is educating administrators about the dangers that many who live in the Fort face on a daily basis.
“The conversation is going to start with what students are upset about,” Freeman said. “It’s exciting to see what those students have to say.”
Task force member Sophia Rubio, junior in therapeutic recreation, said she has experienced the issues of safety within the Fort first-hand, prompting her to become an official voice for her Fort-residing peers.
“I know as a student I didn’t really know what to do in that situation, and I think students should know the steps and what the procedure is,” Rubio said.
For Rubio and Freeman, safety of students is the number one priority.
“I’ve lived in the Fort for about two years, and I think the people around need to know what’s happening around them, so they can be as safe as possible,” Rubio said.
Handling intoxicated individuals and consequences of underage drinking on campus, Freeman commented, were the largest proponents of change that determined the formation of the task force in the first place. By culminating experience from students and expertise from local professionals, Freeman boils down the ultimate purpose of the organization to a question for those on and off campus:
“What should we know and expect of students?”
