Four sexual assaults in the Fort Sanders area and two on campus in March led to the rare issuance of an official safety advisory by UT Police Chief Edward Yovella and Vice Chancellor Phil Scheurer.

Following the refusal to add the words sexual orientation to the EEO/Affirmative Action statement, Lambda Student Union and others complained of pervasive fear of reporting incidents of harassment because of sexual orientation and failure of the DRES (Disability Resources and Educational Services) office to investigate when complaints were made. Chancellor Snyder made clear in a … Continued

Since 1989 Follett Campus Resources had operated the Book Buyback program in the UT Bookstore. In 1998 an audit by UT’s Internal Audit group revealed that over a ten-year period Follett had systematically underpaid for the books its employees purchased from students. The university placed the restitution funds ($380,000) into a special fund and announced … Continued

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform brought an exhibit to campus (November 16–20, 1998) sponsored by the Pro-Life Collegians that used graphic illustrations to support its contention that abortions are genocide. The graphic nature of the exhibit, which included images of an alleged decapitated person alongside images of the Holocaust and African American lynchings, brought a … Continued

Approximately 45 students appeared at the October 6, 1998, city council meeting to underscore student opposition to a noise ordinance under consideration by council. Student voices in opposition to the original ordinance were largely responsible for amendments changing the decibel level and time limits in which the levels would be monitored before passage of the … Continued

A class led by Dr. Sherry Cable, a sociology professor, formed lines on opposite sides of the work in progress on the Joe Johnson/John Ward Pedestrian Mall on February 19, 1998, protesting the lack of grass in the project that had been commonly called a “greenway.” Students held signs saying “Honk if you love grass” … Continued

A group of 40 to 50 students and faculty gathered on the Humanities Plaza on February 25, 1998, and marched to the downtown post office. The group waved handmade banners, chanted “Money for tuition, not for ammunition,” and carried puppies and gas masks. At the post office, students and faculty took turns yelling through a … Continued

In March 1998 Lambda Student Union submitted a letter of application to the Student Government Association Senate Steering Committee requesting the addition of a student senate seat for the organization. At the time, there were 14 student senate seats, and other minority organizations with seats included the Black Cultural Programming Committee, Women’s Coordinating Committee, and … Continued

Opposition to the four-lane bridge linking the main and agriculture campuses of the institution was strong in 1999. A student organization, Citizens for a Pedestrian-Friendly Campus, organized faculty and student and presented petitions that were sent to TDOT and legislators. Both the Student Government Association and the Faculty Senate passed resolutions in opposition to the … Continued

Cuts in funding for the African and African American Studies Program, part of larger curtailment of resources due to decreased state funding, were protested in January 1999 by students gathering at Aconda Court. Eighty students had been turned away from the course African Studies 212 earlier in the week because of limited sections. In March … Continued