Civility. Diversity. Inclusion. #VolsHelpVols.
You have probably come across these words or phrases in various campus emails, on posters, free plastic cups or on t-shirts at campus events. They make you feel good when you see them, right? They’re supposed to. It’s important to make students feel included on campus and foster an environment where we all have each other’s backs. There is certainly nothing wrong with those goals.
With that said, I have a big problem with these words. Why? Because they’re empty. They convey a message of love and harmony without acknowledging systematic oppression. They might confirm the individual worth and dignity of every person, but they ignore our social identities and the boxes we are placed into without our consent. These words are equivalent to saying #AllLivesMatter. In fact, now that I mention it, UT did have an “I Matter” campaign conveniently timed to spit in the face of Black Lives Matter activism. These hollow initiatives allow the university to say they are acknowledging diversity while making white, cisgender, heterosexual students feel comfortable. Sweep our problems under the rug, love one another and go Vols, right? Wrong.
Recent events at the University of Missouri have forced students and administrators nationwide to take a look in the mirror and think about our own campus climates. Does UT take reports of discrimination and hate crimes seriously? Some students have said yes, citing the Office for Diversity and Inclusion and the various diversity and civility initiatives I have mentioned. Other students have been quick to point out that while there are certain safe enclaves for minorities, such as the Pride Center, Black Cultural Center or the International House, the UT campus as a whole is an unsafe space to be nonwhite or LGBTQ+.
The truth is, UT isn’t all that different from Missouri. Sure, we have procedures in place to report incidents of discrimination, but the reports are treated in isolation and do nothing to improve campus climate. For example, last spring, when a student hung a Confederate flag from a dorm room window in Presidential Court, students filed a Stop Bias report and organized a protest. The Confederate flag was removed from the window, but largely because it is against the rules to hang anything outside a dorm room window. No statement was made to the campus community to acknowledge the incident or the follow-up.
More recently, a Stop Bias report was filed regarding the vandalism of the A-frame sign outside of the Pride Center. Again, there was no public word from the campus administration regarding this incident. Imagine how different the campus climate would be if administrators used reports such as this one to educate and benefit our students. What if they had sent a simple email recounting what happened and said something like “We do not tolerate discrimination against LGBTQ+ students on our campus?” Surely that’s at least as important as reprimanding students for their behavior at a Florida football game.
The root of the problem is that these initiatives aren’t really about students. They’re about checking boxes, satisfying donors and working our way into the Top 25. I’m not saying we don’t have administrators who care about students. We do. But until administrators are willing to explicitly acknowledge that racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia are problems on our campus, we will get nowhere. Until they are willing to explicitly affirm black students, queer students, Muslim or Hispanic students, we will not move forward. Your #VolsHelpVols hashtag does nothing to help my friends who are struggling with depression because of marginalized identities. Your civility video does not make it safer to walk down Pedestrian Walkway. You must explicitly identify tangible problems before you can come up with tangible solutions. And students are waiting for our solutions.
Summer Awad is a senior in College Scholars. She can be reached at [email protected].
