Student Walk-out Recap: a Protest for Transparency

On Monday Nov. 10, 2025 over 100 members of the Meredith community gathered in front of Johnson Hall to protest against Meredith's lack of transparency and negligence towards student concerns. Organized by @concernedformeredith on Instagram, the walk out took place at 11:15am during the 11am class session. Students marched and held up signs reading: “Why are we stuck in 1891,” “Communication before cuts,” “‘We’re all mad here’ now has a whole NEW meaning” and “We demand answers, not gaslighting.” Additionally, chalk was provided for students to write messages on the pavement in front of Johnson Hall. 

The general frustration of the student body can be summarized by one student’s comment: “The lack of clarity, the lying, really just the secrecy in general is hindering everyone.” Students asserted that every cut to staffing and faculty positions negatively impacts students regardless of the institution’s intention. 

Students made their voices heard and spoke out about their personal experiences and disappointments in Meredith’s financial assistance, living conditions and irresponsible treatment of dietary concerns. The general experiences shared before the crowd echoed dissatisfaction in the amount of money spent to attend a private institution they feel has been negligent in effectively supporting their students. 

Reporters were not allowed through the college’s front gate to cover the event; so, students marched down Main Street in order to have their voices heard by the Media. WRAL and ABC11 soon released coverage of the demonstration, placing a particular emphasis on student concern for faculty, the school’s financial issues and housing concerns. Students were gratified by this opportunity to speak directly to news sources, giving them a public platform to air the struggles that have been left unheard by the school’s administration. 

On Tuesday Nov. 11, Jean Jackson, the Vice President for College Programs, sent out a statement from the Executive Leadership Team to the student body titled “About Yesterday’s Demonstration.” The statement recognizes a collective love for Meredith faculty and staff as well as the institution as a whole.

When addressing “confusion” about staffing, they stated that “no faculty member has been laid off; none has been fired. Adjunct contracts are always offered on a semester-to-semester basis.  A few administrators have had a change in duties. Some staff members were laid off this summer---that means that their positions were eliminated---no one was fired for cause. Some people retired.” This statement however, failed to address one of the main student concerns: the elimination of Dean positions. Students were clear with their request for information through their chants and chalk messages: “We need our Deans!” 

Alumnae also received an email from President Aimee Sapp addressing the college’s financial deficit, a concern that was unaddressed in the student email. The current economic climate has impacted many universities across the nation, and in response to such pressures, Meredith has created “a Strengthening Meredith Financial Future webpage to help keep [the community] informed about the steps being taken to ensure Meredith continues to fulfill its mission and flourish into the future.” In this email, President Sapp informs the deficit has been cut by 75% to now be $1.8 million; as opposed to the $7 million deficit the college was projected to have this year. 

Notably, the improvements mentioned in Sapp’s email regard a “newly formed enrollment division” that led to a 24.5% increase in new student enrollment for Fall 2025, investments in athletics, the establishment of the nursing program and new strategic planning process. Sapp acknowledges “there’s more work to be done.” 

The overall administrative response has pointed students to various channels to funnel their concerns. The new director of facilities, Russel Roxburgh, has been noted as the appropriate person to report concerns regarding residence halls and academic building maintenance to. Outside of classtime, students have been encouraged to talk with the SGA Executive Board, attend student life forums, take advantage of the student life concerns form, report Facilities Issues, communicate with dining staff and continue talking with trusted faculty and staff when addressing future issues. Additionally, the Executive Leadership team has invited students to make appointments with them or to join them at lunch most Tuesdays in BDH to discuss any further concernsor issues they’re facing in order to improve life at Meredith for all. 

By Grayson Morris, EIC