October 24, 2026
Providence College's Student-Run Newspaper Since 1935
by Magdalena Sisto ’29 on October 22, 2026
The Office of Equity Compliance at Providence College plays an integral role in maintaining the promise of a Beloved Community that the institution collectively strives to uphold. The process of reporting and investigating alleged hate speech has recently undergone some structural changes between the establishment of the Office of Equity Compliance and the restructuring of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office. This article aims to remind students of the resources the OEC provides and to investigate the 135 percent increase in reports of hate speech, from 17 to 40, over the past academic year. Members of the PC community have a responsibility to stay informed of these resources and to take advantage of them accordingly.
How does Providence College define hate speech?
According to Simone Tubman, Assistant Vice President for Equity Compliance | Title VI and Title IX Coordinator, “Providence College’s policy defines hate speech as any unwelcome speech or conduct that is motivated by bias, is subjectively and objectively offensive, or is so severe or pervasive that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s education program or activity.” She added that “hate speech or hate conduct does not need to be targeted at the complainant or reporting party to create a hostile environment. Conduct may be directed at anyone, and/or may be based on an individual’s perceived or actual protected characteristics or affiliation with an individual or group of individuals maintaining protected characteristics.”
What happens after a report?
Within about 24 hours, or the next business day, the OEC sends an email with resources, support, and a voluntary option to connect. Tubman said the office typically makes three outreach attempts. If there is no response, they tell the impacted person they can reach out whenever they need support. An investigation only begins when a Formal Complaint has been filed. Tubman declined to say exactly how many cases ended in academic discipline due to privacy concerns. She did, however, confirm that the consequences range from warning to expulsion. She emphasized that every case and outcome is different.
Navigating the process of filing a Formal Complaint may seem difficult and needlessly complicated. There are federal regulations and laws that the College has to follow. The OEC is charged with making those laws digestible. The legal system is rigid; the College’s process doesn’t have to be. Even the language reflects that: outcomes are “responsible” or “not responsible,” not “guilty” or “not guilty.” Notably, the office has a responsibility to support both parties and aims to hold people accountable in a way that nurtures their development. PC is first and foremost a learning institution, and that ultimately informs the way they proceed with reports.
Why the increase?
Tubman attributes the increase in reports to the College’s investment in a centralized office. Before the establishment of the OEC, Title VI concerns could always be reported to other offices, but the OEC is specifically designed to handle these reports with care. They are equipped with the time and tools necessary to launch engagement efforts and raise awareness. “An increase in reporting means that members of our community understand community values, know where to go to share concerns, and are open to sharing concerns,” Tubman said.
What can you do?
Tubman urges students to attend programs, workshops, and events, and respond to campus surveys. The OEC values student input and wants every student to have a voice. Tubman noted that “when those opportunities are underutilized, we miss valuable moments to learn from one another and inform institutional efforts.” Further details of the OEC’s policies and procedures can be found at https://equity-compliance.providence.edu/
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by William Ryan ’30 on October 8, 2026
Winter is coming, but fall is coming first! Thank the Lord that it has finally arrived. No more dying in the summer heat, being eaten alive by bugs, being miserable in any sense of the word, or wishing the sun would explode. Fall is here, everyone, and we need to celebrate by eating a whole bunch of pumpkin ice cream! Not only is pumpkin orange, which frankly is awesome, but it is also the best-tasting thing you will ever eat. Have you ever had pumpkin chocolate chip cookies? I have, and they are leg-shakingly delicious. Have you ever had pumpkin butter? I have, and it is also delicious, though there is a clear drop in the leg quivers. Other fall flavours include apples and cinnamon, I guess. They are far from the greatest to ever do it, the pumpkin, but still, they have some good applications. Thanksgiving, for example, would be incomplete without the decorative apple pie sitting next to the empty tin of pumpkin pie. Speaking of Thanksgiving, who’s not looking forward to that? Everyone loves their extended family, and everyone loves to get unreasonably full on some pretty decent food. Except for stuffing. I love you, stuffing. Speaking of eating an obscene amount—my god, this article is writing itself—Halloween is coming up. Which includes huge amounts of absolutely delicious candy for probably way too cheap. Skittles, M&M’s, Snickers, Mike and Ikes, Kit Kats; they even have Whoppers for the freaks of the world. But undeniably, the best candy you’re gonna be eating this fall is those pumpkin-shaped Reese’s, which taste 10 times better than the original Reese’s and are in the best shape imaginable. There is no one who has ever lived who did not like pumpkin Reese’s.
Now, if you’ll get a tad philosophical with me, fall is a beautiful season, the most beautiful season if you ask me. Visually, it is absolutely gorgeous. Oranges and yellows and that magical shade of red some leaves turn are unbelievable to watch. We are so lucky to be able to witness that every year. Those leaves give us an incredible show as they die, and I think that is another level of beauty. Their death is celebrated by nature; it’s beloved by billions of people. It’s not a tragic event—not even a sad goodbye—it’s a slow, beautiful transition into something completely unrecognizable: winter. Fall is beautiful because it is the season of change. If we saw life in the same way we saw fall, we would be a happier species.
But anyways, fall is the best. It also smells the best, which I forgot to mention. There is always a moment, every year, where the smell of fall hits you, and it’s like, oh my god, fall is here, everyone, we need to have a party. That’s how I feel right now, and it is amazing.
After a decade in the making, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Digger was released in theatres on Oct. 2. With a large…
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by Kornel Toth ’28 on October 22, 2026
Nathan Fielder has built a career on playing dumb, and in You Can See Everything, the comedian balances that deadpan persona with unapologetic truth-seeking. The result is a riveting, immersive documentary from Lance Oppenheim & Fielder. The film opened in most theaters on Oct. 16. Luckily for us Friars, Providence Place’s Apple Cinemas had early showings on Oct. 15.
The documentary follows Nathan Fielder as he seeks to uncover the truth of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, in the 34 days before Holmes must report to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, TX. The film itself simultaneously begs the question of whether a documentary can ever achieve the truth it seeks.
The first half of this documentary is what it was marketed as: an unfiltered view into Elizabeth Holmes’ life before she goes to prison. Holmes portrays herself as a misunderstood innocent caught up in forces larger than herself. She insists that she never lied to Theranos’ investors, and that the technology was capable of everything she claimed it was. Holmes’ defense requires nothing short of mental gymnastics and depends on literally everyone misunderstanding “what she was really trying to say.” Fielder not only challenges her claims, but also precisely lays out why her statements were deceptive. Despite this, Holmes never seems to grasp why any of it counts as lying. She has built herself a personal narrative that she appears to wholly believe, creating a tension that never completely resolves.
To those unfamiliar with Holmes, she founded Theranos, a company which promised to completely revolutionize blood testing. Adhering to this promise, the company unveiled a device which they claimed could run hundreds of blood tests from a finger-prick sample. Holmes, at the forefront, raised hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet, in 2015, investigations revealed that the technology did not work as promised and yielded wildly unreliable tests. Because of this, Holmes was convicted of wire fraud and other charges relating to defrauding investors.However, Holmes is not the only subject of interest. Fielder doesn’t shy away from interrogating Evans, who engages in certain unscrupulous behaviors. He consistently interrupts and controls Holmes, acting more like a controller than an equal within the relationship. At one point, he interrupts an important discussion between Fielder and Holmes’ father, in which a crucial piece of information is briefly addressed and then dropped.The second half, filmed two years after Fielder’s initial stay in the household, takes a wild, surreal turn. Holmes is now serving her sentence, and questions about the true nature of the couple’s relationship have multiplied. Fielder and Oppenheim bring in a third collaborator to help find answers, and the film’s structure begins to fold in on itself while raising more questions than anyone involved seems to have expected. To reveal anything else would be a disservice to the viewing experience, yet so much of the film cannot be explained without these spoilers. This really is one of those films you simply must see.The tension between Holmes’s version of the truth and the filmmakers’ refusal to accept it leads Oppenheim & Fielder to continue their investigations, as the documentary itself keeps asking whether its methods can ever bridge that gap. Oppenheim’s offbeat, unconventional approach and Fielder’s singular humor make that question feel urgent.
If Oppenheim established himself as a respectable documentarian and filmmaker through his previous works, You Can See Everything has certainly embedded him within Hollywood’s elite as an award-contending director. Fielder masterfully ensured that this film has comedic high points while maintaining its place as a work of art. You Can See Everything is worth seeing in a theater, and it’s the rare documentary that leaves you doubting the form itself even as you’re gripped by it.
Providence College’s Student-Run Newspaper Since 1935
