University Diversity: An Anecdote - Intercollegiate Studies Institute

University Diversity: An Anecdote

As an English major at Vanderbilt University, I regularly receive emails concerning literature and arts-related programs and opportunities on campus and around Nashville (conferences, internships, calls for submissions, etc.). A few weeks ago, I received an email through this listserv encouraging English majors to register to vote, specifically for the purpose of voting “no” on Tennessee Amendment 1.

To put it briefly and without gloss, Amendment 1 would amend the Constitution of the State of Tennessee to allow the state to use acts of the legislature to regulate abortion. The current ruling of the Tennessee Supreme Court is that the state constitution doesn’t allow regulation of any sort (hence, the question of amendment). The proposed amendment does not pass or suggest any specific or general regulations of abortion. Currently, the state of Tennessee stands out apart as having little to no regulation, and so it has become a trafficker in abortions for residents of adjacent states.

That there should be an email through official Vanderbilt servers encouraging such a negative vote did not surprise me at this point in my undergraduate career; this seemed merely par for the course. What was odd was that the email shared a link to a pro-life website militating votes for the amendment. An ironic misstep, I assumed.

A few days later, however, another email came from a different member through the same list apologizing for the wrong link and suggesting instead a different link, this time to a website for the campaign against Amendment 1.

The next day after that came the bombshell. A member of the list responded with a reply to all recipients of the original email. Here are a few excerpts from his/her message:

“This is the most offensive email I’ve ever received from Vanderbilt… If this disgusting amendment does pass, it will be passed by those whose reproductive organs are not at stake. I am repulsed to know that this clearly rogue email made it to my inbox on Vanderbilt’s watch, and I hope that whoever masqueraded as the administration to send this email is found and punished accordingly.”

The only responses to this email were three or four requests from graduated students to be removed from the list… and a correction of a spelling error in the original email.

That is all.

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