Students freak out as Tennessee votes to defund “Office for Diversity and Inclusion”

A move months in the making has finally come to fruition as both Tennessee houses have voted to defund the University of Tennessee’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion at the Knoxville location, according to Inside Higher Ed. 

The office is known for its bizarre ways of promoting diversity, including warnings against Christmas parties and for encouraging the use of gender neutral pronouns. Both of which eventually had to come down after backlash, though students still supported the office.

If Thursday’s bill is signed into law, the $436,000 appropriation for the university’s office will be barred for the coming budget year, with the money being used to fund minority scholarships for engineering students.

Despite the funds still promoting diversity, students reacted harshly against the vote. After December’s study-in, the students on Tuesday afternoon walked out of their classes to stage a ‘die-in.’

After meeting with the administration and making calls to Nashville, more than 200 students participated in the die-in on Tuesday, as the Tennessee Journalist reported.  On those previous efforts, senior Jonathan Clayton believes students have been shown disregard. “We’re here today to show them that we care and that we demand that they change,” Clayton said about Tuesday’s event.