In previous weeks, tensions between WCSU’s administration and the arts community festered as discussions about Artificial Intelligence (AI) began to happen across campus.

WCSU Staff’s Generative AI usage has been criticized by students in the past, but WCSU’s Presidential Inauguration on March 27th heightened the existing displeasure. 

Student complaints have spanned far and wide: upset from sports teams and clubs releasing AI generated advertisements to dissatisfaction with non-specified courses being majorly focused around artificial intelligence and AI based tools. 

The offense that ballooned the current situation was an AI generated song prompted by President Jesse Bernal in the background of his inaugural Instagram post. Anti-AI sentiment has already been festering in the student body, beginning with an AI generated image posted to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. on his holiday, and had only escalated since President Bernal’s inauguration with used AI logos, images, and music. 

Students, seeing it as an“egregious” use of his platform, brought their frustrations to their personal stage: online. Since the initial outcry, students have rallied together to recognize each other’s art on Instagram when they feel the university didn’t. 

Using the Student Action Union—a group dedicated to student activism on campus—the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC) put together a change.org petition asking for WCSU to stop using generative AI in promotional material. This petition received over 400 signatures. 

The University’s Response

With the large wave of student voices, WCSU recognized and wanted to validate what students were saying. On April 6th, President Bernal sent an email out to all WCSU students, proposing a discussion opportunity to speak openly and frankly with him and other students about the possibilities and concerns of artificial intelligence within the university. Attached were appointment slots for AI Roundtable sessions; each session limited to 10 students. Five days after this initial email, President Bernal sent out another email to WCSU students; an abridged version of a personal message he posted on the school’s website.

In this message, President Bernal plainly stated his understanding and care for student concerns: “I’ve heard […] your concerns about my use of AI, and I want to respond personally, because this is ultimately about trust, connection, and how we show up for one another.”

The message focused on President Bernal’s feelings regarding the comments and concerns he had seen from students. Directly addressing the pushback from WCSU artists about the inauguration, Bernal stated that though he wished to involve students more in the process of preparing for the event, “the preparations were too far along to start new creative pieces from scratch.” 

Regarding the song, he admitted it was his “mistake” to use AI: “The production was done through a company that I had worked with before. I assumed it involved real musicians and voices. I did not verify. That was my mistake.” 

He also reinforced his love for the arts at WestConn: “I attend as many performances, exhibits, and shows as I can because it is a true jewel of this university, and I will always support and protect it.”

Included in the message was the link to sign up for the roundtable discussions, further encouraging students to share their voice with him directly. These sessions, happening from April 13-17th, advertised “discussion and feedback, not decisions,” wanting to maintain “the importance of relationships at WestConn.”

An Open Dialogue 

The roundtable was, despite the potential for tension in the room, an “approachable environment,” according to a writer from The Echo who “went in with no expectations”:

“As a member of the Student Action Union, I was concerned about the administration’s easy usage of AI and feared not being listened to. As a member of Student Publications, I was glad that the President wanted to center student voices and I wanted to know his next steps. As an English Major working in the Writing center, I was worried that—no matter what happened at WCSU—the education system was at risk of permanent change.” 

Jesse Bernal sat at the conference table next to Joshua Sumrell, Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Sumrell introduced himself as a facilitator; someone to keep the conversation open and productive. He began the roundtable session by asking everyone to introduce themselves. 

He first wanted everyone to explain their overall view of AI. The Echo attended a session with a wide variety of perspectives: Jesse Bernal—who placed himself as “member of” rather than “leader in” the conversation—a Musical Theater student, a self proclaimed “older” adult Psychology student, a Digital and Interactive Media Arts (DIMA) Major, a Computer Science Major, and an English Major from The Echo.

The psych major was open about his academic and personal usage: he used AI as a tool for transcribing his classes, organizing his notes, and journaling. Having access to a 24/7 tutor outside of class, for this student, was extremely useful in his process of understanding information. 

The computer science student, who expected AI (with its growing prevalence in computing) to be incorporated into the major, was the one to bring up the opposing perspective. In most of his classes, the content (tests, homework, review sheets, etc.) is AI generated to the point that he feels that he’s no longer learning. 

While the ethical implications of AI on sustainability and intellect have dominated on-campus discussions, DIMA (Digital and Interactive Media Arts) majors in particular have been vocal about AI usage in classrooms affecting their educational experience. Students spoke of design classes where they don’t “touch Adobe Photoshop or any industry-standard software.” Instead, students are encouraged to use AI tools and programs to “generate images, music, and voiceovers.” 

This was a sentiment shared at the roundtable by a member of the Student Government Association (SGA), a DIMA major sharing that a lot of fellow students want to switch majors because they aren’t learning what they should with both assignments and submissions being AI-dependent.

With AI already affecting students, the conversation quickly moved from the classroom to the ethical implications. Arguing that GenAI “strips the humanity out of art,” creatives—artists, writers, and performers—expressed their fear of AI using content without permission, whether that be for training or for final output generation.   

Another Echo writer interviewed Brandon LaRosa—former DIMA, now Media Production, major—for a deeper insight on how students in the major feel:

“Art is supposed to be hard. The struggle to make something beautiful makes the act of creating it and the final product that more enriching. Most creatives at WCSU discourage AI when producing art because it poorly represents them as artists and as their respective departments.”

There is pride that comes from creating something using your own intellect. DIMA majors aren’t alone in creating work that they’re not proud of during their educational journey at WCSU. The uproar doesn’t start nor end with them; they are just a portion of unsatisfied students who feel that the education they’re paying for isn’t living up to the price point.

This was the initial concern that sparked a lot of passion from students based in the Visual Performing Arts Center (VPAC). They questioned the ethics of a university known for its art programs using generative AI in advertisements instead of giving opportunities for students to build their portfolios.

Students at WCSU don’t just want something to lash out against, they have a very real concern that their degree won’t give them the skills they need. When a university known for its arts programs outsources to AI instead of giving students the opportunity to provide artistic work, it’s a very real sign that their education is becoming obsolete before they even graduate. If the school they attend already chooses artificial intelligence over into-level jobs, how are students supposed to fare in career searches?

The Current Conclusion

On April 20th, President Bernal posted another message reflecting on his experience listening to students at these roundtable discussions. He summarized his main takeaways as being “the importance of human connection,” “the importance of creative works and art,” “the broader ethical concerns of ownership & environmental impact,” and “the uncertain and inconsistent nature of the policies about it at WCSU.”

It’s clear that, leaving the roundtable, President Bernal wanted to assure students that these concerns had been heard and are being addressed. The academic senate at WCSU is currently drafting policies, but there are no certain or clear answers with this being an entirely unprecedented technology (and set of issues with the technology).

In the roundtable discussion, it was addressed that WCSU’s administration hadn’t planned on addressing AI policy directly; that was a task delegated to the faculty of the school. However, after seeing how much students care and are willing to get involved in administrative issues and tasks, they were prompted to open up a dialogue and “hold themselves accountable.”

The Echo writer shared their feelings post-session: “I, and a lot of other students, said that they genuinely felt a lot better. It felt like, even if the administration was making mistakes, they did have the student body in mind when making their choices. While I’m curious about what comes next, the roundtables—for me—seemed to be a great start to a much longer AI discussion between students, administration, and faculty.” 

In his message, President Bernal went on to say: “These nine meetings were an important starting point, but they are not the full conversation. Because many of these perspectives came from students in the arts, we need to expand this dialogue to include voices from across the university[…].”

He is correct; this is just the beginning of the conversations—likely before the beginnings of any real solutions. Where the broader issues with the ethics of AI stem from is not the fault of Bernal or the university. It’s important to see how over-consumption of convenience can affect our learning environment. This is something a university must consider and adapt to as we grow with the changing world, and something we must consider and adapt to as students as we journey through our degrees.

While AI-related tension has lessened on campus, the greater story is far from over. WCSU wants to correct student concerns; but students must now wait to see how they go about doing so. While these can be uncertain and frustrating times, there is solace in having an administration care enough to invite honest dialogue from the students. 

This, though only the first step, shows a potential for communication between students and faculty. Education helps shape the world, and we must consider how communication shapes education.