Students outraged over proposed program and curriculum changes posted a petition online last week with the goal to “save HU’s Women’s Studies, African American Studies, East Asian Studies, Minors & more…”

The petition argued against the proposed program changes, highlighting the suggested integration of Women’s Studies into the Social Justice major.

As of 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, just five days after its creation, the document had over 880 signatures in support.

Hamline’s Program Review Work Group (PRW) finalized a document entitled “Preliminary Results of CLA Program Review 2016,” on Aug. 31. The document was made available to faculty members, but was not shared with students.

The document outlines a preliminary list of recommended reviews and revisions regarding Hamline’s current program and curriculum structure. The PRW suggests to “eliminate” or “sunset” a number of programs including African-American Studies, Women’s Studies, French and German instruction and the Certificate in International Journalism.

The self-proclaimed purpose of the petition is to “show the decision committee and the other people in positions of power at our school that this proposed plan would be extremely detrimental.”

The petition argues for the importance of keeping the programs subject to possible change intact and independent. The petition suggests “cutting these programs is unjust to current and prospective students.”

Sophomore Mari Tadesse commented on President Miller’s role in the potential elimination of these courses.

“When it’s a woman of color, it’s even more of a slap to the face,” she said.

Junior Blythe Baird wrote the petition and commented on the attempts at communication that have been made so far.

“I think the lack of transparency is really troubling,” she said.

Lack of conversation with faculty and students alike has played a major role in the discussions surrounding this program and curriculum review.

In the wake of the petition’s release, students have organized meetings both within and without academic departments, created a Facebook page in favor of preserving majors in their current state and began using the hashtag #saveHUWS on various social media outlets.

On Wednesday, Sept. 28, Interim CLA Dean Marcela Kostihova responded to the petition on change.org with a lengthy statement addressing communication with students and the importance of “global citizenship” among other things.

In her response, she seemed optimistic about conversations moving forward and said, “…it’s heartening to see our community galvanizing around such important issues in such a short time frame.”

She addressed some of the biggest concerns such as the consolidation of Women’s Studies and African-American Studies into a single greater Social Justice major and the reevaluation of Global Studies.

“Commitment to social justice, broadly defined, is at the heart of Hamline’s mission, and we remain dedicated to working actively toward improvement of the broader society through our leadership, scholarship and action,” Kostihova said. “We similarly remain dedicated to global study, and to programs that enable students to pursue rigorous curricula that would engage a broad array of international issues and geographical areas.”

Kostihova also spoke at HUSC’s general assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The Interim Dean took the floor, animated, confident and ready to answer questions.

“We’re looking at a whole bunch of other things and we’re trying to figure out how we can double down on the things we’re doing well and really strengthen those programs going forward,” she said.

One of the subjects she highlighted was the congruence of certain majors and the Hamline Plan.

“We can do all the talking that we want. We can write ourselves whatever vision statement or mission statement that we want,” she said. “But ultimately, if we don’t walk that talk—if what we require you all to do does not match with what we say that our mission and vision are, then we are not doing our job well.”

A major factor in the proposed program changes stems from what the PRW said to be low enrollment in certain departments.

The preliminary review states that “despite the demonstrated student interest in gender and race studies, the number of majors in Women’s Studies is relatively small…”

According to a document titled “HU CLA Declared Majors & Minors AY15/16,” there were 26 declared majors and 12 minors in Social Justice last year. Women’s Studies was just one student behind with 22 majors and 15 minors.

Baird, alongside junior Clare Pledl and junior Presley Rumsey voiced their displeasure with the process so far and Kostihova’s response.

“It felt like she was trying to shut down the discussion,” said Baird.

As an advocate for retaining the Women’s Studies major, Pledl mentioned the diversity and differences of the majors the PRW has proposed lumping together.

She mentioned that the proposed fusion of Women’s Studies and African-American Studies into a broader Social Justice major is inappropriate.

They are “separate areas of study—all focusing on groups throughout history that have been oppressed that all have very specific histories that throughout regular studies don’t get mentioned very often,” Pledl said. “It just seemed like a really deliberate dig at the Women’s Studies department as a whole.”

Rumsey suggested that the proposed changes contradict Hamline’s reputation and values.

“To cut those things says something about our university if we’re supposed to stand for diversity,” she said.

The PRW is expected to publish a finalized list of curriculum and program modifications by the end of the calendar year, with changes going into effect in the fall of 2017.