Students expressed frustration with the University of Rhode Island Student Senate and their response to comments made by the College Republicans on Instagram.
The incident first came to light on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the Instagram account @providenceprogressives, a progressive Providence journalism outlet, posted screenshots of comments made by @uri_gop, the College Republicans Instagram account, on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The posted screenshots include comments the College Republicans made in response to comments made by @providenceprogressives on their recent meeting announcement. The topic of the meeting was “deportations, midterms elections and global threats to the West.”
“What civilization made the UN, so that all these countries could b*tch and moan about being violated?” One URI Republicans comment said, in regards to a back-and-forth about British colonization. “Western culture.”
The College Republicans account has also been posted on @rhodeislandracismwatchdog, an Instagram account that “patrol[s] Rhode Island for signs of racism,” according to their account.
On Saturday, the president of the URI College Republicans posted their resignation to the club’s Instagram account.
“Due to the unprofessionalism I showed a few days ago, I am hereby resigning as the President of the Republicans club, and a change in leadership will be brought in,” the caption read. “Words brought up, no matter how out of context, do not represent the broader views of the club, so do not go after them. That is all.”
The same day, the 2024-25 Student Senate President Argha Goswami and Vice President Sanah Feroz made an Instagram post urging the current senate to confront bias proactively. URI’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, the College Democrats and BridgeUSA made a joint Instagram post condemning the “bigoted remarks” made by the College Republicans. The post calls upon the Student Senate, University President Marc Parlange and URI to condemn the club’s comments.
“URI’s current course of inactivity, with its gag orders and repudiation, enable bad actors in our community to continue creating hostile environments for marginalized and minority groups on campus,” the joint statement read.
The post also claims that student senators have been told to not speak with The Good Five Cent Cigar. While senators were advised to take caution when speaking with reporters, they were not told they couldn’t, according to senate Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Kairy Gonzalez.
The senate became aware of the comments in the following two days after they were posted, according to Gonzalez.
“I drafted a referendum, which I’m rewording into a resolution,” Gonzalez said. “My intent with it is essentially to condemn that behavior.”
The Student Senate’s last meeting was Wednesday, Dec. 3. The comments were initially posted on Tuesday, Dec. 2, but many senators did not see them until one or two days after. Gonzalez was unable to get her legislation to the floor on such short notice, but she said it will be on the floor at the first senate meeting in the spring.
The College Republicans have had issues with public comment before. In 2007, the College Republican group was put on probation after publishing an ad for a scholarship for white, heterosexual, American males, according to the Brown Daily Herald. The College Republicans were asked to issue an apology for failing to make it clear the ad was satirical. The group enlisted the help of the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expressions, a self-described “defender of fundamental rights on college campuses.”
The College Republicans was initially derecognized, but after media coverage, the senate dropped the issue and continued to recognize the club.
The URI Student Senate issued a statement on their Instagram account on Wednesday stating they stand firmly against all “discriminatory or hateful expression[s].” Commenters on the post criticized the statement, with one user even calling the statement cowardly.
“I think the university is remembering [the 2007 incident] when they make their decisions.” Gonzalez said. “I know [the University Student Conduct System] is working on it. As for what their thoughts are or where they are in that process, no one in senate knows.”
There are no senate bylaws regulating social media speech, according to Gonzalez.
“Not everything is in black and white unfortunately,” she said. “We can want to do something, we can morally feel a type of way, but sometimes legalities prevent us from doing what we feel is right.”
University administration is aware of the incident and reviewing whether or not further action is necessary based on university policy or the Student Handbook, according to Assistant Director of Communications Dawn Bergantino.
Students can submit incidents to the university’s Bias Resource Team. Students looking for support can contact university counseling services in Roosevelt Hall.
