A Letter to the Brescia University College Community

I’m an alumni of Kings College at Western. I did take some classes at Brescia. What a huge loss this will be for students! The ability to study in a smaller setting at a world class university is such a gift. As a woman, I cannot imagine why you would take away such a valuable safe space for women! Please do what’s needed to stop this!

Save Brescia…

Brescia needs to remain independent so more women are empowered.

Very disheartening to hear this is happening. My daughter attended Brescia 2016-2020. She loved her time there and feeling of community. She also felt safe. Very sad that again money over lives matter.

Deeming women-only spaces 'not necessary' because women make up a large percentage of university students ignores systemic barriers to higher education female students still experience. Harassment, belittlement, and pressure to enter female-dominated fields are all problems that single-sex spaces may not cure but may help alleviate. Women deserve spaces to learn and grow amongst one another, rather than being folded into mixed-sex institutions that may not meet their needs in the same way. All the power to the students standing up for their right to their own spaces!

To make this decision solely based on the "changing higher education landscape" is to ignore the context and realities of women, living, still, in an unequal society.

Brescia is a home to me and so many people. The values and community that it has can't be merged with Western or people will fall through the cracks. I found myself at Brescia and met amazing mentors and friends. It is devastating that so many girls will not have this safe space to explore themselves.

Totally unacceptable. This is very unfair for students choosing a small and more personal environment. It's a shame that yet again, money wins out instead of compassion and understanding.

This decision needs to be reversed immediately !

women only spaces are important. not only that, women need to be consulted and included in the process of making such decisions.

110 % support

I am shocked, saddened and outraged at hearing about the closing of Brescia on the radio news this morning! As a proud Brescia Alumnae, a past Alumnae Board Member and Past Alumnae Office employee I cannot believe that I had to hear about this on the radio. I had no idea this was coming and by the sounds if it neither did present staff, students and other Alumnae! Had I known it would possibly be the last I would have attended Homecoming last weekend. Brescia was always a place where young women have been nurtured in a kind, safe and supportive environment where friendships were made that last a lifetime! I would never have survived in the huge classes on main campus! The Ursuline sisters were wonderful and made it truly a unique place! I hope signing this petition will show that we stand up for alma mater and we want to see it remain the only all female University in the country!! We need to stand together and show Western that we are Brescia strong and proud!!

As an alumnae this mad me sad and heartbroken. Brescia set me up for success. The small class sizes, clubs where I met some of my close friends, professors you got to know, and a community made for an incredible 4 year experience, something I would not have experienced had I been a main campus student. The few courses I took at main campus, I felt like I was drowning. Please, take the time to read this letter, and sign and share this letter. Let’s save Brescia!!!!

It seems unfair that this has been done without any warning to staff and incoming students.

This is far from fair to existing students who have been promised this unparalleled opertunity to study at safe, strong, and supportive University and are instead being set aside in favor of what looks like a cash grab for the money from international students. We need to support the current students before there should be any change to their new model

Shocking almost all members of the Brescia community with news of this magnitude - news that significantly affects their lives - all while ignoring collegial governance, is unconscionable. In solidarity with all those who made Brescia what it is and who are working to improve and preserve it.

Existential decisions about the university should not be made without extensive consultation with the faculty, staff, and students.

Please consult with your faculty, staff, and students.

Brescia showed a level of investment in its students that is simply not found at other institutions. In the courses I took there, every student was set up for success. This is why outcomes were so much better than in large classes at a large institution. This success reflects more than grades, it appears in the longterm retention of knowledge and the confidence that Brescia instills in its graduates. In an era of widespread mental health crisis, it is truly discouraging to see the abrupt shutdown of this institution that has raised the standards for student wellness and academic achievement.

As a faculty member at an affiliate and member of HUCFA, I am disappointed to read that faculty and students were not consulted about this decision.