MARTIN, Tenn. – Students in the senior cohort of the Ned Ray McWherter Institute at the University of Tennessee at Martin created an umbrella-share program for the university.
Several umbrella stands stocked with umbrellas will be placed inside selected buildings across campus. If people need an umbrella and don’t have one of their own, they can take one from the stand and return it to a stand when they no longer need it.
Steve Vantrease of the Ned Ray McWherter Institute said the eight umbrella stands will be placed in residence halls, the Boling University Center and selected academic buildings.
Four umbrella stands will be placed Saturday, March 8, and the other four will be placed at a later date.
Senior Eli Scott, a senior veterinary science and technology major from Medina, was one of the students who worked on the umbrella share project.
“A friend of mine talked about umbrellas, and I thought it would be a really good idea to have this umbrella-share project,” he said. “From my own experience when I lived on campus, there would be many days where I would just get out of bed, wouldn’t check the weather and get to my classes, and then, it starts to rain, and there I am without an umbrella.”
The project was created in the fall 2024 semester, but students had to wait for the umbrellas, stands and signage to come in.
The -hare program is sponsored by the UTM Office of Housing and Sonic Drive-In.
Photo: Umbrella stands like this one will be seen across the University of Tennessee at Martin campus to help those who are caught in the rain without protection.