Volume 92/Issue 20
THE
April 22th, 2019
ANCHOR Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928
Faculty and administrators advocate for RIC’s future
Catherine Enos and Lucille DiNaro Opinions Editor and Business Manager
The legislative session is well under way, and so are the efforts of faculty, administrators and Rhode Islanders working towards the expansion of the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship. On April 10, an array of people testified in favor of the Promise Scholarship’s achievements and possible expansion to RIC students as proposed in the Governor’s budget bill. The testimony of two RIC professors suggested that RIC played a unique role in the legislative process. And, indeed, for a large part of the spring semester, a group of RIC faculty have met weekly and stayed in communication with representatives from the Governor’s office to dis-
cuss the Promise and the concerns they had with its accompanying administrative provisions. “The Governor’s office reached out to RIC… to get us to support the Promise Scholarship, which probably almost uniformly everybody thinks is absolutely fabulous.” Dr. Schmeling, chair of the Committee on Political Education, said. “We all get that our students struggle financially.” However, the new requirements of the Post-Secondary Council that accompany the expansion of the Promise Scholarship were somewhat “concerning,” according to Dr. Schmeling. The areas of the bill that were cause for concern included performance-based funding initiatives, a common
course numbering system and major revisions to the transfer credit articulation policies. In his verbal testimony on April 10, Dr. Schmeling pointed to ample research and institutional knowledge that suggests that the provisions would have been detrimental to the college and students. Governor Raimondo’s Education Policy Advisor,
Art Nevins, worked directly with faculty members to develop a revised version of the budget request, while honoring “the goal to make it easier for students to transfer in between institutions and navigate the higher education system.” A key motivator behind the new reporting requirements was the Governor’s desire to evaluate the Post-Secondary council’s ability to monitor and assess learning outcomes. “If you are going to RIC and going into the workforce, we want to make sure that you are getting a degree that will give you a good job and a good place in Rhode Island. We want to make sure that colleges do their part to make sure students are successful.” “The way to achieve those goals really threatened in-
stitutional autonomy,” Dr. Bohlinger, chair of the RIC faculty commented. Dr. Pearlmutter, Interim Provost, agrees that “We could have some more serious thoughts about our capacity at looking at learning outcomes. That had been looked at when we did our change to general education programs about six years ago, and they decided to stay with themes.” While CCRI and URI develop curriculum based on learning outcomes, RIC curriculum is developed thematically. Discrepancies between the three institutions’ general education programs complicates the ease of transfer between CCRI, RIC and URI. See “RIC’s future”, page 5
Title IX and what it means for safety on campus Abigail Nilsson Anchor Staff Back in early February, RIC students received an email from President Sanchez informing the community that obscenities were yelled at a female walking across the campus. Following this episode, campus police and security were increased. No more emails have been sent out regarding similar occurrences on campus, but that is not to say that there has not been other discrimination issues going on which have been handled privately.
Title IX is a federal law that states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This means that any school who accepts federal funds must comply with this law, including Rhode Island College. Anybody employed by RIC is considered to be “responsible employees,” including, but not limited to, professors, coaches, and advisers with the exception to the Student
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Health Center as they are covered under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. “Responsible employees” are required by law to report discrimination of any type or if a student does not feel safe. A discrimination issue or concern does not have to be public and wide spread. “There is never any pressure from this office to file a complaint,” said Margaret “Peggy” Lynch-Gadaleta, Director of Institutional Equity. RIC Health Services advises that if you feel that you are in danger, make sure you are in a safe
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place. Contact someone you trust. If you are in danger and need immediate assistance on campus contact Campus Police 401456-8888 or call 9-1-1. RIC has a new director of safety and security/chief of police, Colonel James Mendonca, starting on April 29. In an email sent out by Stephen J. Nedder, Interim Vice President for Admin. and Finance, welcoming Col. Mendonca to the RIC community, says, “he has pledged to hit the ground running, bringing his expertise in law enforcement and leadership to the department and institute and envi-
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ronment of community policing on our campus.” There are several on and off campus resources and counselors available. Any concerns regarding discrimination or inequality can be addressed to the Title IX Coordinator, Margaret Lynch-Gadaleta, she is located in Roberts Hall 301, or you can email at mlynchgadaleta@ric.edu or call her 401-456-8387. To view the annual Security Report at RIC visit http:// www.ric.edu/studentlife/ documents/RIC2018AnnualSecurityReport.pdf.
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