THE VOLUME 90 | ISSUE II
ANCHOR
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 2016
This is not a drill
LOUISA D’OVIDIO
Editor-in-Chief
parking. It doesn't surprise me that campus police has also let safety from building code standpoint fall
"That's gonna have to change,” said freshman Lexington Forbes, echoing the sentiments of campus
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hode Island College has not had a fire drill in a classroom building in over ten years, the Chief of campus police, Frederick Ghio, informed the community last Thursday in an email blast. Students on campus have expressed both concern and anger once informed of this oversight.
"As a student who lived on campus and now commutes, I think it's incredibly irresponsible of campus police to overlook something that is supposedly code. Furthermore, I find that if I compare parking enforcement and something like emphasis on campus safety, emphasis of parking violations is very unequal,” said Rhode Island College senior Nathaniel Banks, "we have more to worry about than
Editor-in-Chief
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overnor Gina Raimondo visited Rhode Island College last Thursday for a town hall style forum, where students and members of the community voiced their questions and concerns directly to the Governor. The town hall was hosted by NBC 10 News’ Dan Jaehnig, who usually hosts a segment called ‘Connect to the Capitol’ with the Governor, monthly on NBC 10. This is the first time the segment went “on the road.”
RIC students in the audience asked a number of questions that
Breaking the stigma KRISTY O’CONNOR
Secretary
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hode Island College has introduced a new program to combat the misconception that individuals with intellectual disabilities do not attend college.
by the wayside."
Graphic credit to Kayleigh Lahousse
In the resident halls, fire drills are conducted yearly with direction from trained RAs.
"That's surprising. I never knew that," said freshman Michelle McPherson upon learning about the lax safety precautions, she spoke on the fire drills recently conducted in wher residential dorm, "-I'm surprised they didn't do that for all buildings"
police, “It's endangering our safety.”
Campus police and the college’s apparent “fire technician” will be conducting a fire drill Tuesday Sept. 20 in Alger hall, staff, students and faculty will need to evacuate to ‘the field behind C lot,’ the open parking lot between Alger, Whipple & the tennis courts.
Governor and college students come together for town hall LOUISA D’OVIDIO
© The Anchor 2016
took the conversation from broad statewide concerns to policy and issues facing students at the college.
Patrick, a RIC Senior, asked about Raimondo’s stance on the new performance-based funding bill which will soon go into effect and stated that he feels what the funding incentivizes “do not correspond with the interests of students,” particularly in regards to nontraditional or part-time students.
Raimondo addressed this concern by claiming that Rhode Island College will not be “punished” for its lower graduation rates under the new bill, but made it clear that “we do want you to graduate.” She described a number of programs, ranging from free bus passes to
improved financial aid, which she sees as being integral to making the most of RIC’s performance-based funding.
During the Q&A, RIC senior Taylor pointed out that Rhode Island is one of 11 states that spends more on incarcerations and prisons than it does on public colleges, and asked how the governor plans to address this.
In response, Raimondo stated that, “pretty much everything we’re doing, from making public schools better, to making college more affordable has been one solution to the problem.”
Governor Raimondo and Jaehnig hope to continue bringing the town halls directly to the community and into the fray of public debate.
When the Sherlock Center received a five year grant, it allowed RIC to introduce a new program with an employment focus. Individuals who are enrolled in this program will receive a certificate of undergraduate studies in college and career attainment (CUSCCA) after two years. Along with the structured classes, students also have the opportunity to take other courses that interest them, and these take place in an integrated classroom. The program places an emphasis on gaining work experience, as well as finding the students internships within the campus and their own community. Allyson Durkin, employment coordinator, and Deb Arenberg, academic mentor coordinator, teach the employment classes, and currently have four students enrolled. Durkin also organizes the on-campus and offcampus internships for students, allowing them to gain experience.
“There is a stigma that students with disabilities do not go to college, and I think it is the best thing for them. A lot of students are motivated to be here and happy and excited and giving them the opportunity to be college students and give them the live they want to live is important,” Durkin said.
Within the introduction to vocational exploration class, students get the opportunity to participate in mock interviews to prepare them for future job interviews. This class is essentially a work readiness class aiming to prepare students to have a job of their own someday. The class also covers resume development and continued on 4
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