Students Protest UT's Ties to Accenture Regarding Consulting Report on Outsourcing
Several hundred protesters took to the streets in a demonstration Friday, Feb. 7, to call on UT administrators to cut further ties with consulting firm Accenture and halt the implementation of "Shared Services," a cost-saving pilot program that threatens to eliminate 500 jobs.
One of several recent actions led by a coalition of student and community organizations opposing Shared Services, the protest began with a rally, after which demonstrators marched across campus. Frequent stops were made as marchers danced, flash mob-style, to an Accenture-rejecting adaptation of the Jackson 5's "ABC."
Sophia Poitier, philosophy senior and University work-study employee, was among the speakers at the rally. From where she stood at the foot of the UT Tower, Poitier motioned to the words inscribed above the main entrance: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."
"I think that this university has some really great ideas," Poitier said. "When I look at my university ... I don't want to see a place where we are plucking workers out like they're expendable, like they don't matter to students. I interact with staff every single day. They are part of my education."
More at http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-02-14/students-protest-uts-ties-to-accenture/ .