Defend Diversity at UT-Knoxville: Veto SB1912

The Legislature passed SB1912/HB2248 that removes funding from the Office for Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.  Sign this petition that we will deliver to Governor Haslam asking him to veto the bill.

Governor Haslam, we call on you to veto SB1912/HB2248 and protect the University of Tennessee-Knoxville's Office for Diversity and Inclusion.  The office plays a vital role in making the university competitive for the best students, faculty, and staff and it makes campus life welcoming for all.  Thank you for considering our views.

Who's signing

Amy Elias
Andrew Currey
Tk Francis
Lyric Farmer
Leiah Durr
Jodie Hamilton
Valerie Wilhite
Mario Knox
Wade Boswell
Kimberly Davis
2,097 SIGNATURES
2,500 signatures

Will you sign?

  • Amy Elias
    signed via 2017-02-17 16:02:25 -0600
  • Brian Wilcox
    signed via 2016-11-21 13:51:38 -0600
  • Caleb Laieski
    signed via 2016-06-02 12:08:55 -0500
  • Heather Cohen
    signed via 2016-05-08 21:20:12 -0500
  • Edward Wolff
    signed 2016-05-07 16:16:31 -0500
  • Liz Elliott
    signed 2016-05-06 19:34:25 -0500
  • Marcoa Nolastname
    signed via 2016-05-03 12:50:17 -0500
  • Brandy Drake
    signed 2016-05-03 01:00:12 -0500
  • Andrew Currey
    signed 2016-05-02 20:20:07 -0500
  • Leslie Agron
    signed 2016-05-02 17:48:23 -0500
    We are a diverse nation. It’s silly to spend so much time trying to defund this group. Leaves one thinking it is about control rather than what is needed at the university. Sad.
  • Tk Francis
    signed via 2016-05-02 00:43:28 -0500
    When we have to diversity……you know we need it!
  • Michael Lin
    signed via 2016-05-01 21:23:59 -0500
  • Jason Smith
    signed 2016-05-01 08:07:01 -0500
    No place for hate
  • Marty Menane
    signed via 2016-05-01 07:25:18 -0500
  • Jayla Freeman
    signed 2016-05-01 00:47:37 -0500
  • Lyric Farmer
    signed via 2016-05-01 00:23:09 -0500
  • Lisa Bennett
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-04-30 23:40:06 -0500
    Sign the petition: Defend Diversity at UT-Knoxville: Veto SB1912
  • Lisa Bennett
    signed via 2016-04-30 23:39:31 -0500
    I’m a native Mississippian. My home state has made me ashamed. I hope my adopted home of Tennessee does not do the same with such backwards legislation. Veto this bill!


    UTC graduate, Class of 1996

    Mother of Haslam Scholar, Cohort of 2018
  • Leiah Durr
    signed via 2016-04-30 23:18:37 -0500
  • Esthela Rios
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-04-30 22:32:43 -0500
    Sign the petition: Defend Diversity at UT-Knoxville: Veto SB1912
  • Esthela Rios
    signed via 2016-04-30 22:32:21 -0500
  • Amber Hale
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-04-30 21:53:25 -0500
    Sign the petition: Defend Diversity at UT-Knoxville: Veto SB1912
  • Amber Hale
    @hale_maker tweeted link to this page. 2016-04-30 21:53:23 -0500
  • Amber Hale
    signed via 2016-04-30 21:52:46 -0500
  • Jodie Hamilton
    posted about this on Facebook 2016-04-30 21:48:12 -0500
    Sign the petition: Defend Diversity at UT-Knoxville: Veto SB1912
  • Jodie Hamilton
    signed via 2016-04-30 21:47:56 -0500
  • Valerie Wilhite
    signed 2016-04-30 17:40:25 -0500
    In the last two years or so the tensions between the people—students, faculty, staff, administrators— who see themselves as “normal,” in the center of the campus, and those who are left on its margins have popped off. We have intense protests, strikes, graffiti, nooses, and so much more happening on campuses across the country. What allows these groups to use education, dialogue, and reflection to guide interaction instead of letting tensions build and explode: the answer is in the Diversity Office on your campus. They do the research and find what works, what helps. They are a space of safety and trust and they go out onto their campuses to make pockets of safe space.


    How could anyone possibly want to cut diversity programming THIS year. Have you not seen what is happening? Did you not see the superbowl halftime show and the “Formation” video that preceded it and the spoof(s) and columns that came after? The killings and abuses of trans people and people of color across the United States that have prompted intense frustration, anger, and organized movements?


    I have worked on university campuses for two decades now. We need MORE support. Not less.
  • Mario Knox
    signed via 2016-04-30 09:49:52 -0500
  • Wade Boswell
    signed 2016-04-30 09:12:54 -0500
  • Kimberly Davis
    signed via 2016-04-30 07:54:21 -0500

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