Webster University students walked out in the middle of classes Tuesday in protest against what they call a lack of transparency and fiscal responsibility from administration.
“I pay to come here. This is where all my money is going, and it’s not benefiting me at all,” student Max Florida said.
Students gathered in the Quad to encourage a change in leadership and budget transparency. Webster has recently been in the spotlight for issues, including neglecting to pay rent, budget cuts and soaring leadership compensation.
Students gathered around a picnic table as the protest started, creating signs and setting up a loudspeaker.
“The fact that the chancellor and the president and all these people are getting so many raises – up to almost a million dollars per year – is insane when we don’t have the facilities that we need,” said Florida, who also helped organize this morning’s walkout. “We don’t have the things that can make students safe and comfortable and exist here at Webster.”
The salaries of the school’s highest-ranking administrators are one of several areas of concern for protesters. Students demanded the return of resources like Metro UPasses and access to Adobe Cloud, as well as more accessible facilities and equal distribution of funding to the university’s various schools and departments.
Junior Adelaide Caskanett has felt the impact of limited funding in the art program, including neglected equipment and a required commute for necessary software.
“The printer in the art lab’s been broken for, like, two weeks,” Caskanett said. “I’m just starting graphic design. If I wanna work, I have to commute.”
The Webster Student Coalition, which began in 2021, played a significant role in planning the protest. In a social media post and a graphic passed around the school, the coalition demanded transparency and reform. Students claim the school neglects to host democratic conversations about budgeting and leadership.
“The idea is to get students organized, working together, talking about what’s going on and what we can do about it, make this a directly democratic organization,” said senior Luke Adams, who led the coalition’s involvement in the protest.
By 11:15 a.m., a crowd of around 150 people had gathered in the Quad as students took turns atop the picnic table-turned-stage.
“I’ve seen probably about a dozen protests or gatherings. This is on the larger side compared to the others,” said dean of students John Buck, who made himself available for conversations with students during and after the protest.
Crowd members carried signs that read “Stroble: $817,194, Schuster: $704,273,” and “Promises over Profit.”
“I’m from Singapore. I moved across the world for this school,” student Beverly Joy-Goh said. “I moved here from a city that has a world-class education; we have some of the best universities in the world, and I was willing to move here because you guys have a supposedly world-class Conservatory. Instead, we are paying underperforming employees so much money to do absolutely nothing.”
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Lauren Brennecke
