Students protesting “P&E” report speak out at Council at Postsecondary Education meeting
- Alana Carroll
- 16 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Alana M. Carroll
Anchor Staff Writer
Protestors poured into Gaige Hall 200 to interrupt a conference and face RIC President Jack Warner. The meeting of the Council on Postsecondary Education was disrupted by around 60 individuals, most students but some faculty on Wednesday evening. Many wielded signs, holding them high as they expressed their discontent with recently announced changes.
“Save our majors! Save our passions!” the crowd chanted as they poured into the Gaige first-floor lounge. A sign held by one of the protestors bore the same demand, held high as the crowd marched to the second floor and eventually into the conference room. A couple of RICPD officers stationed themselves outside of the doors in response to the commotion.
What are the changes, and why are students so upset over them? An email from the President’s office gives a clue:
“The provost’s office recommended suspension of enrollment in 20 programs or concentrations effective Fall 2025,” it reads, “the consolidation of 15 programs and concentrations, and the continuation of 21 programs or concentrations contingent on an approved program improvement plan.”
The email came the day after the final report from the provost’s office was leaked. The report, titled the “Program Productivity and Efficiency Process”, was circulated through the school via printed copies and QR codes. The paper printouts sat on trash cans and benches, asking students, “Is your major suspended?”
“We are not permitted by law to amend the agenda tonight or address issues that are not on the agenda,” a member of the council stated. “However, we discussed with our legal council and [we want] to allow somebody from your group to address the council… so that we can hear what you’re here for and anything you want to say about the issue.” The councilman continued that for the following meeting, a period of public comment would be added to the agenda.
“Should have done that before this meeting, right?” retorted one student protestor, feeling silenced. “The rules… The rules matter when you wanna get things done that you wanna get done, but not when we want something, right?”
The Anchor’s own opinions editor Roman Kavanagh was nominated by the crowd to take the seat of the assistant commissioner and speak at the conference table.
“I don’t think I can represent everybody’s voices… [but] I’m willing… When I came to RIC, it felt like such an inclusive, wonderful place. One of the first people I talked to was Leslie Schuster of the Gender and Women’s Studies Department. I got really excited hearing about the ‘queer studies’ minor, and I thought that this place just seemed a lot more inclusive… but these actions I don’t think represent that whatsoever.”
Gender and Women’s Studies, including its Queer History minor, is one of the 20 programs on the chopping block. Many protestors in attendance came specifically to fight for their major. Several signs in the crowd spoke to the importance of the program, including one which read: “We need women + gender studies.”
“RIC was made as a ‘teaching school’ and yet, on this list, why are there so many education programs? We literally are going against our history and undoing the very things that people know us for.” Snaps of approval echoed from the crowd and encouraged Kavanagh to continue.
“It’s also pretty disgusting seeing what they’re being replaced for. The fact that we’re getting a lot of AI programs right now [while] we’re getting rid of Creative Writing, Arts, and all of these things that are human and intrinsically part of the humanities experience in college… It feels like we don’t value these people and these majors whatsoever.”
All of the suspended majors, with the exception of two branches of health science, are humanities or art related, including the MA in Creative Writing, the BA in Gender and Women’s Studies, the BA of Art History, and several Modern and World Languages BAs, including French and Portuguese.
“RIC [has prided] itself for so long on being this inclusive place, and now we are trying to turn it into [an] institution to please… I don’t know, the state.”