As the proposals for the elimination of majors within the Social Sciences department, as well as meteorology, continues through the university governance process, student protests have continued to escalate in step. 

This week, beginning at 3:00pm Wednesday, November 16, 2022, students and faculty in opposition to the cuts rallied on midtown campus, carrying signs and banners, chanting and playing protest songs. These protests came ahead of the University Senate meeting which began at 3:30pm.

Although the cuts were not the main focus of the meeting, having been discussed at a special session called on October 28, and is slated to be discussed at another special session on or about December 7, they nevertheless loomed over the session. The senate president noted the attendance of student and faculty protestors, who remained silently, holding signs and banners around the perimeter of the room for the duration of the meeting. 

Compared to past University Senate meetings, which previously featured long statements from administration, followed by scathing rebuttal by AAUP representatives, actual discussion at the November 16 meeting was orderly and restrained. While in attendance, both President Beran and Provost Alexander declined to give any remarks. The AAUP update, delivered by the grievance officer Dr. Whittemore, appeared to strike a cooperative, and even cautiously optimistic tone, highlighting the ongoing collaboration between the affected departments and the administration to find common ground in recent meetings. Dr. Lumbantobing, AAUP chapter lead, remained on the picket line with students for the duration of the meeting.

A brief moment of procedural drama occurred when one senator motioned to allow Mercedes DeMasi, an alumna from the Western Connecticut State University Class of 2011, to speak. The senate president initially ruled the motion out of order, on the ground that individual students are not permitted to address the senate directly under governance procedure, with the exception of the SGA President who holds a senate seat. 

A second motion to override this ruling was immediately passed by a two thirds vote of the senate, and DeMasi delivered remarks on the importance of social sciences as a path for empowering marginalized voices and enhancing the quality of student education. DeMasi finished her remarks by reminding officials about their responsibility to the people of the state as a whole, and to future students in particular, urging senators and the administration to avoid knee jerk reactions to short term trends.