Alexis Rapoza
News Editor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Over the summer, Rhode Island College announced that despite minimal in-person learning and administration urging students to stay off-campus, RIC students would still be charged for fees that students felt they would not use. These fees include a charge for transportation, the dining center, the recreation center, student union, library as well as athletics.
In response to this, two Rhode Island College students, Alexis Desorcy and Vasiliki Platsidakis, created online petitions urging Governor Gina Raimondo and the RIC administration to get rid of the extra fees. Desorcy claimed, “This is robbery and we are forced to pay for these things we don’t even have access to.” The two petitions garnered over 7,000 signatures total.
However, John Taraborelli, a spokesman for RIC, stated that fees had already been reduced citing the elimination of the “Fine Arts fee” and a 75% reduction in the athletics fee. He asserted, “The goal with these fee adjustments is to be sensitive to the economic difficulties facing many of our students, but also to balance this by maintaining critical support operations that will benefit them.”
So, what exactly is open on the Rhode Island College campus? The Anchor has compiled an overview of the status of all the buildings on Rhode Island College’s campus and any restrictions that students will need to know about should they decide to visit campus.
Before arriving on-campus students, faculty and visitors should download the “The Guardian” app and fill out a COVID-19 screening which will be shown to Anchor Health Ambassadors at the entrance of each building. Alternatively, visitors can opt for a verbal and visual screening also performed by Health Ambassadors
Everyone visiting the RIC campus must also wear masks and social distance at all times.
The Adams Library
Adams is currently only open to RIC students and all students who wish to use the library must enter from the entrance accessible from The Quad. The library is currently operating at 50% capacity and has removed nearly half of the furniture in order to enforce this reduced capacity.
The library is requesting that students reserve books, laptops, calculators, and other technology on their website ahead of time.
Desktop computers in the library are available for student use for periods of 45 minutes or 2.75 hour times slots and must be reserved online for use Mon-Fri. On Saturday and Sunday computers are first come first serve.
The Library is open on Monday through Wednesday from 8 am to 9 pm, on Thursdays and Fridays from 8 am to 5 pm, Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm and on Sunday from 1 pm to 7 pm.
The Recreation Center
Everyone entering the Recreation Center will be screened before entry and must wear a mask, except during swimming.
The field house, pool, multi-purpose, cardiovascular and weight rooms are available for student use for limited hours, from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm Sunday through Saturday.
The Murray Center and Athletic Complexes
For the fall semester, The Murray Center will remain closed to the public but will be open for faculty, staff and students. In addition, all outdoor athletic venues such as the tennis courts are also closed to the public yet remain open to the RIC community.
The Bookstore
The Bookstore is open this semester with limited hours. However, students are encouraged to take advantage of curbside pickup to reduce capacity in the bookstore. Hours of operation are 9 am to 4 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and closed Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Donavan Dining Center and The Cafe
The Dining Center and Cafe are open for RIC students, residential and commuters, faculty and staff. Limited seating is available both inside and outside on the patio at the Dining Center and those wishing to eat at the Dining Center are encouraged to keep their visits at 30 minutes or less. In addition, all non-residential students wishing to eat at the Dining Center are asked to provide their name and contact information at the cash register. The Dining Center is open Monday through Friday from 7 am to 7:30 pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6 pm.
The Cafe is providing pickup service orders only. Students can order food from The Cafe via the GET mobile app Sunday through Thursday from 3pm to 10 pm.
IT Help Desk
The IT Help Desk will not be taking walk-ups this semester and is requiring that students make an appointment should they need assistance that requires in-person service. The Help Center will be available from 7:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Fridays and closed on Saturdays and Sundays. To make an appointment students can email helpdesk@ric.edu.
Career Development Center
The Career Development Center will continue to offer services to students via virtual appointments only. Furthermore, all job fairs and Graduate School fairs will take place virtually as well as portfolio and resume reviews and virtual workshops.
The Counseling Center
The Counseling Center is offering virtual appointments via telehealth as well as virtual group “drop-in” sessions for any student who needs extra support.
Health Services
Health Services is open to all students both Residential and Commuter on Monday and Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm. Should students need assistance outside of operating hours they should contact campus police who will contact the on-call Health Services provider.
The Unity Center
The Unity Center is providing virtual events to help keep RIC students engaged and involved. These events include virtual karaoke, movie nights and Zoom Calls. For more information, students can contact the Unity Center at their social media sites @unitycenterric