Students walked to the bottom entrance of Thompson Boling Arena to grab the attention of state legislators as they exit on March 5. Natalie Ward • The Daily Beacon
Legislators move to halt diversity bill Staff Report State legislators moved Wednesday to stop the progression of a bill which would strip the diversity office of its funding. The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, would have redirected $100,000 in state funding from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to a program providing “In God We Trust” decals for local and state law enforcement vehicles.
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At the Senate Education Committee meeting Wednesday, the bill was referred to the general subcommittee, halting its progress. In an emailed statement made on behalf of the UT system, UT spokeswoman Gina Stafford maintained the importance of the university’s diversity office in light of recent legislative attempts to defund it. “Although we have made significant progress in convincing legislators of the importance of our diversity programs, the use of related funds, and the outcomes achieved, the most important
hurdle remains to be cleared (is) the state budget passage over the next two weeks,” Stafford said. “Our government relations team in Nashville will continue working to positively engage legislators toward an outcome that preserves UT diversity program funding and maintains our ability to deliver on these critical initiatives.” Senator Gardenhire was not immediately available for comment. This bill is different from the budget amendment which intends to strip the Office of
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Diversity of $8 million in state funding, which is still in place. If passed, the budget amendment, sponsored by Sen. Dolores Gresham, R-Somerville, will reroute the money from the university’s budget to rural outreach programs throughout the state university system. Both the bill and the amendment surfaced after state and federal legislators criticized the diversity office last year for articles on their website promoting the use of gender-neutral pronouns and inclusivity at holiday parties.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016