By Kate Tortolini

Photography from Alexandra Tavaglione

BRISTOL, R.I. – On Dec. 11, students at Roger Williams University gathered outside the administration building to rally against the recently implemented furlough program; the program does not directly affect students, but can have a carryover effect.

Students protested the furlough and held signs that said things like ‘hawks deserve better than furloughs’ and ‘no decisions about us without us.’ They also marched in a circle, chanting things like “no confidence, no furlough.”

There were many statements made by students addressing their concerns, alongside the organizers of the rally: Anya Arroyo, Laney Reardon, Henry Siravo and Audrey Dolahan.

The organizers were motivated to arrange the protest after hearing about how much it ultimately affected the students. They hope to make it known to the administration that students do not support the furlough and stand in solidarity with the faculty.  “I do feel like the administration is always more willing to listen when they’re realizing how much students are standing up for a cause,” Arroyo said.

Siravo explained that regardless of which week employees take their furlough, it still affects students. “Our professors are the backbone of this university… I came here because of the professor’s reputation; to see them get hurt in any way hurts our education, it hurts the university’s morale, and it hurts us directly.”

Within the first few minutes of the rally, University President Ioannis Miaoulis made an appearance. He stood and listened to some of the students’ speeches, and opened the floor for students to ask him questions–a sentiment that has not happened since Nov. 13, when the program was announced.

President Miaoulis explained that he wanted to ensure that the furlough would not affect students, as he recognizes the impact that it would have. “We wanted to minimize the impact to the students, and we wanted to do it in a way that is equitable. For example, we do not want to interrupt your classes.” Miaoulis said.

Additionally, students are worried about the financial troubles that this furlough would create for faculty. “There’s people living paycheck to paycheck that cannot just be expected to forgo a week of pay because the university doesn’t know how to budget their spending,”  Arroyo said.

President Miaoulis explained that the general faculty is the second-highest compensated group in the university and believes that the university has some of the highest compensated faculty across the country.

Students are also concerned about President Miaoulis’s compensation and how the impact of his high salary is affecting employees and students. In an email that was sent to employees on Dec. 4, President Mialouis explained that he and his cabinet would not receive raises this year. “In addition to participating in furloughs, the Cabinet and I are also forgoing raises for the remainder of this fiscal year. “ President Miaoulis wrote. Additionally, when students asked about the President also taking part in the furlough, he acknowledged that he would also be taking a week without pay during one of the allotted weeks. 

When asked about his high salary specifically, the President explained that his pay is out of his hands. “The board sets my salary. So any question about my salary should be addressed to the board.” 

It was also expressed by the students that they were discontent with the minimal communication between the university and the unions. “I am a proud supporter of unions, and I think that the fact that they went behind the unions’ back to not negotiate about this is disgusting,” said MJ Sangster, a student at RWU.

“We go by the rules of the contracts; each union has a different contract. So in some contracts, furlough is part of it, and you just have to notify the union a day in advance, which we did,“ said President Miaulous. 

Students chanted and protested against not only the furlough program but also the minimal financial communication from the administration. They ask for more transparency and to be more informed on what the university’s finances look like and how it will affect them. 

Students also want to achieve a clear line of communication between students, faculty, and the administration.  “I really just want this rally to achieve a sense of solidarity among students, faculty and staff,” Arroyo said.

“The goal is obviously to get the furlough off–but also in a broader context–start having conversations again,” Siravo said.

In response to the furlough, students have three demands:  “What we’re also hoping for with our three demands is hoping for the furlough to end, hoping for more transparency between administration, students, staff, faculty, and the unions, and hoping for more consultation before making large decisions that affect us.” Arroyo said. “As we said before, the main thing we’re standing on right now is making no decisions about us without us.” 

Fellow organizer Laney Reardon states, “We’re going to go to the board, we are going to talk to the people who need to hear our voice, and we’re going to make sure that they understand that their actions are completely inexcusable in every sense of the word. We’re not going to stop until our faculty and staff get paid the money that they deserve.”