Photo above: Simran Mohanty, KSU student, from screenshot of virtual press conference

By Rebecca Gaunt

Kennesaw State University students and faculty plan to follow up on Saturday’s press conference (follow this link to view the online press conference) and 12-page letter demanding the school reverse plans to “reimagine” student centers and eliminate philosophy and Black studies majors with a protest during the May 14 Board of Regents meeting. [Correction: the protest is scheduled for the 14th, although an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the 15th. We took the date from the date of the full agenda meeting on the BOR website, but there is an executive session of the BOR on the 14th. That, the 14th, is the date chosen for the protest. We regret the error]

The board oversees the state university system.

“We are writing because we believe the university’s current path, one of quiet dismantling under the banner of ‘compliance,’ violates the very commitments Kennesaw State has made to its students, faculty, staff, and broader community,” the letter states.

Last month, KSU announced its plans to end the Black studies, philosophy, and technical communications majors. It is also restructuring six identity-based resource centers, including the LGBTQ Resource Center, Unity Center, Women’s Resource Center and the Hispanic/Latino Outreach and Leadership in Academics (HOLA) Center.

The changes coincide with President Donald Trump’s directives to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives or risk federal funds.

During the May 9 Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences graduation ceremony, Brandon Moore was removed from the stage after he held up a sign that said “Black studies matter” and “I am a product of Black studies.”

Nathaniel O’Neill, a history major from Perry, Georgia and moderator of Saturday’s virtual press conference, said what happened to Moore was an example of the university wanting to “keep dissent hidden.”

Sociology student Simran Mohanty said the six identity-based resource centers have been “reimagined out of existence.”

“Black studies and philosophy, disciplines that foster critical thinking and liberation, are being cut under the excuse of low enrollment. But how can students enroll in programs that are systematically underfunded and not advertised? That’s not underperformance. That’s sabotage,” she continued.

The demands of the protesters:

• Reinstate all six identity-based resource centers as they were
• Reverse the deactivation of the Black studies and philosophy majors in line with faculty governance
• Publicly acknowledge that these changes were not legally required and make a statement affirming protection of these spaces
• Increase investments in programs and services that support marginalized students
• Implement public oversight to insure this cannot happen again

“My community is not exactly welcome here in the south, especially in rural areas where students in the LGBT community often have little, if any support outside of schools or the programs offered by them,” said Ames West, an environmental science student.

KSU professor and chair of the history and philosophy departments, Dr. Lauren Thompson, said it was an important issue for her because she’s appointed in two of the three affected departments.

A member of the college curriculum committee, she said they drafted a resolution that has widespread support from faculty even outside the affected departments.

“KSU faculty as a whole, across the entire university, have recognized the implications of what has happened regarding these deactivations,” she said.

While these majors aren’t the first to be eliminated at the university, a key difference is that the established process was circumvented this time, according to Thompson.

Mariam Shafik, a current Black studies student, had a message for KSU president Kathy Schwaig.

“How is that you, as a woman who actually holds power, use it to destroy, take away programs that helped you get in your position?” she said.

Dr. Roxanne Donovan, who has taught Black studies for 17 years, said she was devastated by the decision, especially at a metro area school with Black students making up more than a quarter of the population.

“In my 17 years at KSU, I have never seen such a swift dismantling of degree programs without consultation with faculty, students, or community stakeholders, leaving me and others to question why,” she said.

As of fall 2024, KSU had nearly 48,000 students. 40% were white, 28% Black, 16% Hispanic, and 6% Asian.

KSU spokeswoman Tammy Demel did not respond to the Courier’s request for comment, but education advocate Tracey Nance, the 2020-2021 Georgia Teacher of the Year, told the Courier that the university’s official statement about the changes was “misinformation.”

She also provided a student-created graphic that illustrates the parts of the statement they are calling into question. For example, that the teach-out plan to allow currently enrolled students to finish is only for two years and won’t help freshmen and sophomores, and that the university is intentionally undercounting the degrees per their policy that all undergraduate programs must maintain a three-year rolling average of 10 graduates per year.

The protest is scheduled for Wednesday from 12 p.m until 2 p.m. outside the Board of Regents meeting in Atlanta.

Philosophy major Jacob Waller had this to say: “In our digital age, where social media companies make billions of dollars in profit by exploiting our collective feelings of isolation and loneliness, where higher education is being morphed into yet another soulless corporation, we represent a stand against this change…This real space for human connection is lost when its value is equated to the number of degrees entering the failing job market.”

The press conference can be viewed in full here: Kennesaw State University Students and Faculty Virtual Press Conference