Agnes Scott has long prided itself on being a true liberal arts college—an institution that values breadth of learning, critical inquiry, and diverse perspectives. That tradition is what makes our community innovative, inclusive, and intellectually vibrant. Recently, however, the college has begun to erode the very foundation of that liberal arts identity. The Classics Department is currently slated for elimination (possibly as soon as the November 7th faculty meeting) and other departments are facing similar pressures. Some have been denied permission to replace departing faculty or are restricted from offering elective courses beyond the core requirements. Programs such as Classics, Religious Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Africana Studies are all under strain.

Without these crucial disciplines, Agnes Scott will cease to embody what it means to be a women's liberal arts college. These fields not only enrich every student’s education and deepen/complicate our understanding of the world, they are what distinguish ASC from other institutions. In an era when the liberal arts are under attack nationwide, preserving these programs is more vital than ever. We cannot let them evaporate into thin air! We cannot concede to the administration’s deliberate gutting of liberal arts programs.

As we speak, Agnes Scott Administration is trying to take away the Classics major. This is not only terrible for current students who are trying to earn the major, but it's going to screw over the Classics faculty as well, forcing them to rely on yearly contracts. As a student who came to Agnes partially because of the Classical Languages degree, I am astonished at how quickly the department has been dismantled. When I first enrolled, there were two classics majors. Now we're well into the double digits! Unless we stop this now though, there will be zero by the time I graduate. This petition is being created to prove to Administration that we, the Agnes Scott community, want the college to remain dedicated to teaching the liberal arts that we were promised - especially the very foundation of most artes liberales, Classics.

We, the undersigned members of the Agnes Scott community, urge the administration to reaffirm its dedication to the liberal arts by preserving the Classics major and supporting all departments that embody the college’s core mission.

Keep Agnes Scott a true liberal arts college.