Volume 139, Issue 13 Wednesday, November 18, 2020
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Hundreds petition Chancellor Plowman for ‘Mental Health Break’ DANIEL DASSOW Staff Writer
Last week, an anonymous student posted a petition on change.org calling for Chancellor Donde Plowman to give students a “Mental Health Break” before the last day of classes on Nov. 24. Since then, the petition has gained close to 800 signatures from students who see a day off as a way for the university to make up for removing all breaks from the semester, a decision made to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “COVID has caused so much unrest, and on top of that our fall break was removed weeks into the semester,” the petition said. “We’re not performing at full capacity and this isn’t the standard amount of stress. It feels like nearly everyday is a final exam day. Therefore, I think it is reasonable and fair to ask for one day off between Election Day and Thanksgiving Break. One day for us to have a mental health break and allow us to get off our laptops and breathe.” The petition cites the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an institution where students successfully petitioned for a mental
health day. UNC’s chancellor recommended that faculty give students a day off of classes on Oct. 9 as a way of supporting student health. A month later, it seems that hundreds of UT students are at the end of their rope after 13 consecutive weeks of online school work without a break. Kaitlyn Meadows, a junior studying ecology and evolutionary biology who signed the petition, says that the administration’s safety precautions, while well-intentioned, have negatively impacted students’ mental health. “The decision to eliminate breaks for this semester was made to help keep us physically safe, but many students have faced severe mental health consequences,” Meadows said. “This not only affects our productivity and motivation to complete schoolwork, but it also deeply affects our personal lives and our overall health.” Meadows, an SGA senator representing the College of Arts and Sciences, believes that a mental health day would help to prevent widespread burnout in the student body in the last few weeks of classes. “Many students, like myself, are totally remote this semester, which means that most days are spent doing schoolwork while physically isolated from the rest of the UT community,” Meadows said. “A mental health day would provide a much-
needed mental break for students and faculty who have been pushing through an unprecedented semester despite the many obstacles along the way. For me, a mental health day would be an opportunity to recharge to finish out the semester without getting burned out.”
In a semester that feels like one long day spent in front of a screen, hundreds of students seem to want a day where they can choose to simply walk away from it all and reclaim their mental health. DANIEL DASSOW STAFF WRITER
Tyler Sivels, a junior studying architecture, saw the petition on Twitter and was inspired to sign it because of the lack of breaks this semester. He believes that the main source of students’ mental health problems is a lack of understanding on the part of university leaders about the unique stresses facing students this semester. “I would just tell the faculty and the people over everything that’s going on to think about how they would feel if they had to go to school constantly without any breaks while all this is going on in politics, the world and all the different changes that are happening,” Sivels said. Sivels’ sentiment was echoed by many students who signed and commented on the petition. One signer went as far as to say that “student health shouldn’t be a joke to the faculty.” For his part, Sivels would just like a day to either catch up on or take a break from work. In a semester that feels like one long day spent in front of a screen, hundreds of students seem to want a day where they can choose to simply walk away from it all and reclaim their mental health. “Everybody’s just been really on edge about school work and when (my roommates) come home from class … they don’t want to worry about school at all, they don’t even want to think about it, but they have to,” Sivels said. “It’s just like a never-ending cycle.”
8 Vols football assistant coaches choose to refuse salary pay cuts RYAN CREWS Sports Editor
Tennessee football didn’t play this weekend, but there was a bit of news, as pointed out in a report by Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville News Sentinel. Eight Tennessee assistant football coaches refused to accept a pay cut despite the rest of their Vols and Lady Vols counterparts agreeing to help the university in what is likely to be a very tough year financially. The only Vols assistant coaches to accept a pay cut were wide receivers coach Tee Martin and running backs coach Jay Graham, who both went to Tennessee and have since returned to coach at their alma mater. The eight individuals on this list include seven of the Vols’ nine assistant coaches, as well as new strength coach A.J. Artis. Coordinators Jim Chaney and Derrick Ansley, who rank 11th and 23rd in the nation for assistant coach salaries, are the most notable of the bunch. Oth-
ers refusing a pay cut are offensive line coach Will Friend, quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer, outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton and tight ends coach Joe Osovet. “Unfortunately,” Athletics Director Philip Fulmer told Knox News, “there were some contract employees who did not agree to a reduction for their own reasons. But I am especially appreciative of all our head coaches and staff members who are doing their part for the greater good of the department.” According to the documents obtained by Knox News, the eight individuals were the only employees with the Volunteer athletic department to who were both asked to and then declined to take a pay cut in the midst of a pandemic-based recession. This is expected to result in a $40 million dollar loss due to lack of revenue from a variety of sources, including football. Tennessee Athletics has worked hard to avoid having to terminate staff, but it was decided that starting on Nov. 1 until June 30, there
would be tiered pay cuts for Volunteer employers with an annual salary higher than $50,000. The department can only force at-will employees to take such a reduction in salary without his or her consent. Contract employees, however, must agree to the reduction and sign amendment; to agree to that lower salary. The plan was projected to save the university roughly $1.6 million if everyone agreed but will now save about $1.3 million. The cuts include all head coaches, expect for Jeremy Pruitt who declined to accept a raise earlier in the year and as such was not asked to be take a cut. The head coaches also agreed to forgo any non-championship incentive compensation through next summer. Included in the reductions is Fulmer, who originally was set to earn $900,000 and is taking the high percentage cut at 15% in addition to waiving any and all incentive compensation though this coming summer. “I am very grateful,” Fulmer said to Knox News. “To all the athletic department employees and families that have taken a salary reduc-
tion and are showing support to our department during such a difficult time, they have helped prevent the need to eliminate positions as we continue to battle this pandemic and its medical and financial implications.”
I am very grateful to all the athletic department employees and families that have taken a salary reduction and are showing support ... PHILLIP FULMER ATHLETICS DIRECTOR