Hate words smear the Rock again
Controversies continue surrounding UT’s Sex Week
Sometime during the night before Monday, April 9, a group defaced the University of Tennessee Rock with derogatory words.
The Rock reads “Sluts catch AIDS” beside what resembles three crosses. The message is signed by “Federalist Soc.”
The incident marks just one of several times the Rock featured negativity this school year. On Feb. 12, more than 400 members of the Volunteer community gathered at the Rock and created a rainbow of handprints to cover racist remarks.
Students wonder if the current phrase correlates with UT’s annual Sex Week. The educational venture runs through April 12.
“I think it definitely has something to do with sex week,” junior Lainey Goodwill said. “Sex Week is such an important event here on campus, but it gets a lot of backlash. People mistakenly think that providing sex education to college students means that those students are going to suddenly start having lots of irresponsible sex and getting abortions, when that’s just not accurate.”
Sexual Empowerment and Awareness at Tennessee (SEAT) coordinates Sex Week on campus. SEAT aims to educate the students of UT about sex, sexuality and relationships.
“UT has a sex week to compensate for Tennessee’s inconsistent sex education in high schools,” Goodwill said. “The information you got largely depended on where you went to school.”
More information about UT Sex Week and the list of events can be found here.
Featured photo taken by Chelsea Babin
