As neighbors on College Hill, Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design are natural partners for collaboration. Brown is a leading Ivy League research university, and RISD is the nation’s premier art school. Capitalizing on these strengths, our universities share an undergraduate dual-degree program, a Master of Arts in Design Engineering and the opportunity for students at each school to cross-register for classes. This partnership is mutually beneficial, but to maximize returns on our shared strengths, Brown and RISD ought to deepen their relationship through calendar alignment and club integration.
One of the biggest barriers to cross-registration is the lack of alignment between our institutions’ academic calendars. Though our fall semesters begin at the same time, RISD’s Wintersession and spring semester begin and end later than ours, making it difficult to take RISD classes during the second half of the year. For these reasons, Brown’s website even discourages final-semester seniors from registering, as it may delay graduation. But seniors, who have completed the bulk of their concentration requirements, might just be the students who would otherwise have the space in their schedules to take a RISD class.
Furthermore, Brunonians get the last pick when registering for RISD’s small classes. Reet Agrawal ’21 told The Herald in a 2019 interview that cross-registration is “an uncertain and tricky process” because “you don’t know whether or not you’re registered for a course until the date of the course,” making it difficult to plan the semester. These challenges still remain. Additionally, RISD classes are often restricted to certain RISD majors, and the school’s course catalog does not list prerequisites, making it difficult for Brown students to know whether it is open to them or whether VISA 0100: “Studio Foundation” — itself a difficult course to get into — is required.
Beyond academics, Brown and RISD are largely socially disconnected, with each institution having its own clubs and sports teams. Many Brown student organizations, such as the College Hill Independent, welcome RISD students. Though we approve of this inclusivity, it is also true that RISD students do not pay the Student Activities Fee, creating an unequal financial burden to support these activities. A unified club system would ensure everyone contributes equitably and would help create a shared culture on College Hill.
Although there are opportunities for stronger collaboration, Brown and RISD are independent institutions with distinct characters. We are not by any means proposing a merger, but we believe that the University should take steps to enable Brown students to utilize RISD’s resources fairly and foster connections between Brunonians and RISD students. Columbia and Barnard College offer some compelling examples of these types of integration. The two institutions share courses, clubs and sports teams, yet remain separate universities with independent admissions, finances, residential life and administration. Even though Brown and RISD should remain independent, both schools can learn from this example.
While it’s not feasible to open the floodgates for Brown students to take RISD classes en masse, it should be more accessible to do so, and there should be spots reserved for Brown students to give us a fair shot at registering. Additionally, we believe that Brunonians should have access to RISD’s Catanzaro Student Fitness Center, as RISD students already have access to Brown’s Jonathan Nelson ’77 Fitness Center. Students at both schools should have a limited number of swipes at each other’s respective dining halls to facilitate social connections. These proposals would also save both institutions money through economies of scale by combining student activities offices.
RISD and Brown share the same space: There’s no reason our campuses should feel worlds apart. Deeper integration between our schools will strengthen both institutions and create a more vibrant College Hill.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board, and its views are separate from those of The Herald’s newsroom and the 135th Editorial Board, which leads the paper. A majority of the editorial page board voted in favor of this piece. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
