Posted on March 18, 2019

Interim UT President Randy Boyd Looks for Avenues to Curb Racist Events After Blackface Incident

Jason Gonzales, Nashville Tennessean, March 13, 2019

The University of Tennessee system plans to launch a sensitivity training program in the statewide 4-H programs it oversees in a bid to help prevent racist events.

The idea comes after an incident where two people, believed to be University of Tennessee-Knoxville students, appeared to wear blackface in a Snapchat image with a racist caption.

Ethan Feick, one of the students in the post, unenrolled from the school, said Interim Chancellor Wayne Davis last week in an email to students, faculty and staff and then posted on the chancellor’s webpage.

In an interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee, UT interim President Randy Boyd said {snip} to curb racist events, something widescale was needed. The idea to add sensitivity training to 4-H programs was a student suggestion, he said.

{snip}

He said sensitivity training among those members has a broader statewide impact rather than just the incoming freshman to UT’s schools every year.

{snip}

UT officials have condemned the photos, calling them “repulsive” and “abhorrent.”