While the UT system’s “big wigs” met in the Hollingsworth Auditorium, another throng of voices demanded their questions be answered on UT’s Agriculture campus.
Following suit of this semester’s campus protests, approximately 15 Facilities Services employees, led by UT purchaser Tom Anderson, waited for Board of Trustees members in the minutes before all committees met in their conference room.
Since the August reveal of Gov. Haslam’s proposal to outsource management of state-owned land, namely higher education institutions like UT, many university workers have continued to protest the proposal, which is estimated to eliminate or reduce over 1,000 jobs across the Knoxville campus.
As a body that reports to the Tennessee General Assembly, Anderson and his peers said they knew gaining visibility among the Board of Trustees would be critical in advocating for UT to “opt out” of Haslam’s proposal.
“So far, it’s been a fairly positive response, from people in their cars to the members we’ve spoken with,” Anderson said. “The most important thing for us is to make sure the people who can make changes happen are fully aware of what this plan means for us.”
While their numbers were noticeably fewer than in past protests, the exhibited resolve remained undiminished — even in light of the allotted space for pre-meeting mingling between members and the protests outside the conference room.
“In the past, we’ve passed out flyers as the trustees were going into their meeting,” Anderson recalled. “I’m not sure why they decided to keep us back this time. We don’t want to fight — we just want our voices to be heard.”
UT President Joe DiPietro did not make any official statements about an “opt out” plan during the meeting, but did reinforce his commitment to recognize the efforts of one Facilities Services employee.
Charles Arnold, a building service aide in Morgan Hall, was praised by DiPietro for ensuring the building’s floors were pristine and well kept.
“What keeps me focused at the university is the people,” he said. “I’ve always been a people person.”
