Trinity College Town Hall Spring 2025 Outcomes

Summary provided by Town Hall organizers

On Feb. 14, 2025, iHouse and Students Against Mass Incarceration hosted a Campus Town Hall. The purpose of the event was to create an open and inclusive space where students, faculty and staff could engage in meaningful dialogue and voice their concerns, ideas, and demands regarding campus life and policies. The event was organized under the Students and Faculty for Justice in Palestine Coalition and was co-sponsored by Balkan Student Association, Trinity Environmental And Climate Justice, The Mill, Students Expecting Consent, Encouraging Respect of Sexualities, Trinity Community Care Project, Model United Nations, Muslim Student Association, Trinity Marxist Student Collective, South Asian Student Association, Asian American Student Association and Women of Color Coalition. Administrators Joe DiChristina, Rob Lukaskiewicz and Mike Bodnarik were present.

The following report collates what was shared during the event and provides next steps. Students are excited to continue communication with the administration to strengthen the campus community.

Student Concerns About Student Organizations On-Campus

Many community members expressed concerns regarding the lack of support from the administration for student organizations on campus. One student shared that Trinity had failed to advertise the D9 sorority as they had claimed to, as well as the Semester at Spelman and Xavier brograms, which prevented them (and other Black students on campus) from taking advantage of a crucial opportunity to participate in an identity-affirming academic and extracurricular programming at Trinity. A representative of The Mill expressed frustration that the physical safety of their house on campus was continually overlooked, with their calls to fix the damaged ceiling and heating system left unfulfilled for weeks. Model United Nations called on the administration to increase the funding for student organization’s travel expenses, as it creates significant barriers to accessing crucial extracurricular opportunities for low-income students. Additionally, the International House’s statement demanded that the administration ensure that the funding for their organization not be cut.

Student Concerns About Staffing On-Campus

Students requested more staffing for SARC, and were informed by Joe DiChristina that the College is in the midst of hiring a second full time staff member. This is good news and students in attendance were glad to hear it, and continue to emphasize that this hiring process must be quick and efficient.

Students are concerned that the current hiring freeze will result in positions which are crucial for student success not being filled. The counseling center is currently inaccessible; it is advertised as a resource available to everyone, and yet emails and phone calls are not returned. Students are experiencing wait times to receive care that are upwards of one semester. In addition, the program coordinator position for WGRAC/QRC is currently vacant. Students first note that this position is the amount of work for two people, not one. Students also note that this position is vitally important and must be filled to ensure student success.

The Title IX Coordinator position has been chronically vacant since its inception at Trinity. Currently, the interim coordinator is only available remotely. Students and faculty are experiencing difficulty getting in contact with Title IX, and are not hearing back from the coordinator in a timely way. Trinity must hire a coordinator who is available in-person. In addition, Trinity must write a report analyzing why the position is so chronically vacant, and implement a plan to retain employees in this position.

The Chartwells Management are mistreating Mather staff members. This mistreatment is well documented and ongoing. Trinity must not tolerate worker’s rights violations which occur on our campus. The College must make a plan to sever ties with Chartwell, and announce the plan by the end of the semester.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A significant portion of the Town Hall focused on issues relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, with particular attention given to protections for international students in light of recent executive orders threatening the rights of immigrants, especially those who have participated in on-campus activism. Students and organizations called on the administration to declare Trinity a Sanctuary Campus, thereby prohibiting the School from sharing any information regarding immigration status with ICE or allowing the entrance of ICE officers on campus, among other duties. Students, including the representative of the Trinity Community Care Project, also called for explicit protections for student activists and organizers. Many individual students raised concerns about the lack of clear protections for international students by the administration, including information regarding preserving financial aid for international students and the financial barriers of international students completing the annual CSS profile. Additionally, students expressed a need for a Know Your Rights information workshop on Trinity’s campus, which was supported by the Trinity Community Care Project. The International House’s statement demanded that more stable sources of food for students beyond the food pantry are funded for, particularly over breaks; that required course materials be included in the cost of tuition; and that there be expanded opportunities for students seeking on-campus jobs, research assistantships, and fellowships, especially for international students who may experience difficulties finding these opportunities elsewhere. Trinity Community Care Project also demanded that Trinfo Cafe, a vital resource for the Frog Hollow community, be invested in, renovated, and reopened as soon as possible.

Students also expressed concerns about the physical accessibility of campus for those with disabilities, as well as the need for additional accommodation support for those with academic accommodations, with hopes that the vacancy in SARC will be filled quickly. Similarly, students stated that there is a severe shortage of mental health support due to the insufficient staffing of the Counseling Center. Community members shared that it was not uncommon for students to remain on the Counseling Center waitlist for months or years.

Disclosure and Divestment

A variety of student orgs and individuals emphasized that the college must disclose and divest. In particular, the College must publish investments online every fiscal quarter at a publicly-available, permanent link and fully divest from war, fossil fuels, apartheid, weapon manufacturing, and mass incarceration. Student orgs and individuals additionally expressed dismay that only one of the Trinity Student Coalition for Justice in Palestine’s October, 2023, demands have been addressed. A member of the Land Acknowledgement committee noted that the words of a land acknowledgment are not enough: Action must follow. It is hypocritical of the Board of Trustees to approve a land acknowledgment for the College while not fighting against the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

Free Speech On-Campus

In Oct. 2024, the Trinity College administration admonished 11 students in an attempt to chill freedom of speech. Per the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)’s statement on the rights and freedoms of students, “Students and student organizations should be free to examine and discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately.” The right to non-violent protest is widely recognized as a basic right for all students. Given the peaceful nature of the October protest, admonishing students for their alleged participation constitutes a clear attack on the rights and freedoms that students should have on-campus as outlined by the AAUP.

Students at the Town Hall expressed dismay that the Trinity Administration so brazenly attempted to quell free speech on campus. Students noted that protests are inherently disruptive, and in addition, students must protest because there is no other choice: The Board of Trustees has not provided any opportunity this academic year for any and all students to raise their concerns to them. In order to be heard by the Board, students must resort to protest.

As a committee of students, faculty and administrators work to evaluate and develop more detailed guidelines for student demonstrations, which will be publicly announced by March 15, 2025 (per Joe DiChristina’s Jan. 16 email) they must keep in mind that the right to protest on-campus is a fundamental right of students, staff and faculty. The updated language should enshrine this right as policy, and emphasize that free speech from students the administration disagrees with (such as students protesting genocide) must be protected.

At the Town Hall event, Joe DiChristina said that as both an individual and professional, he supports the right for students to protest. Students at the event noted that if this were true, the administration would have publicly apologized for the October admonitions. Although the admonitions were rescinded as of Jan. 21, Joe DiChristina wrote that the admonitions were rescinded because “the deans are confident that the students involved understand why the admonitions were issued and are learning through this process.” In other words, Joe DiChristina doubled down on the administration’s stance that on-campus, students cannot protest genocide. Students demand a public apology for issuing admonitions from both the administration and Board. 

Action Items

Students are thankful that Joe DiChristina, Rob Lukaskiewicz and Mike Bodnarik attended this event. However, students also acknowledge that the Trustees were on-campus, and the multiple invitations to participate in meaningful dialogue, which were sent weeks before the event occurred, were ignored. The Trustees, who are the highest governing body on our campus, must take action to initiate dialogue with any and all students who would like to speak with them. How can the Trustees do their work when they ignore the voices of those who they are serving?

This report, therefore, concludes with action items for the administration and Board. Students expect that meaningful progress will be made on these demands before the end of the semester.

1. Schedule a Town Hall for when the Trustees are next on-campus. Send an invitation to all students and faculty inviting them to make their voices heard. Trustees, the President, and administrators must be in attendance at this meeting.
2. In the future, the administration must organize twice annual Town Halls which invite any and all students + faculty to engage in meaningful conversation and open dialogue. It should not be the students’ responsibility to organize, host and fund these opportunities.
3. Make a plan to sever ties with Chartwell, and announce the plan by the week following the April Board meeting.
4. Address the long wait times at the counseling center. Ensure any student or faculty who calls or emails is contacted within three business days by a counseling center employee.
5. By next academic year, increase the number of counselors in the counseling center to ensure that there is no wait time for students seeking mental health care.
6. Hire a full time Title IX Coordinator who is available in-person.
7. Publicly institute guidelines for the required response time of Title IX to students and faculty. The Coordinator must respond to students and faculty within five business days.
8. Write a report detailing a plan to retain a Title IX coordinator and explaining why the position has had such significant turn over since its inception.
9. Ensure equitable advertising and opportunity for all Greek life on-campus.
10. Ensure equitable advertising for study away programs: In particular, increase awareness of Trinity’s partnerships with Spelman College, Xavier University, and other HBCUs.
11. Fill the current vacancy for a program coordinator for WGRAC/QRC, and make plans to hire an additional full time staff member for this position.
12. Make plans to provide The Mill the renovations it needs to continue to be an arts hub on-campus.
13. Initiate dialogue about increasing SGA funding for club travel costs, in particular those of MUN.
14. Do not cut funding from iHouse, an important cultural and social organization.
15. Officially designate Trinity a  Sanctuary Campus and implement the concomitant protections required for the designation (including but not limited to prohibiting the School from sharing any information regarding immigration status)
16. Ensure that the funding of the DEI programming is not reduced, even if federal orders withdraw funds for the purpose and the College budget has to be restructured in order to do so.
17. Provide for and communicate explicit protections for student activists from ICE.
18. Declare the preservation of financial aid provisions for international students.
19. Provide international students with financial support to complete the CSS profile annually.
20. Host a Know Your Rights workshop that is open to the entire campus community.
21. Develop additional free food sources for students on campus beyond the food pantry (including but not limited to the distribution of gift cards during break to cover the cost of groceries for three meals a day the duration of the break).
22. Include the cost of required course materials in the cost of tuition.
23. Expand funding for students seeking on-campus jobs, research assistantships, and fellowships.
24. Immediately reinvest in Trinfo Cafe to renovate and open the building to the community as soon as possible.
25. Develop and implement an action plan to expand the physical accessibility of campus.
26.  The updated language regarding protest in the student handbook must enshrine the right for students to (disruptively) protest as official policy, and emphasize that free speech from students the administration disagrees with (such as students protesting genocide) must be protected.
27. The administration and the Board of Trustees must publicly apologize for admonishing student protestors