This is an open letter written by the artist, activist and student Jacob Watters and signed and supported by likeminded individuals directed to the faculty of Glasgow Kelvin College, Principal Derek Smeall, The Scottish Qualifications Board, The Scottish Government (Specifically The Minister for further education Jamie Hepburn) 

We demand an immediate change to Glasgow Kelvin College’s borderline illegal and oppressive policy when it comes to freedom of expression.

Jacob Watters is a young creative who currently studies Music Performance at Glasgow Kelvin College. Through his music Jacob (or as he is better known “Watters”) tackles themes such as DISCRIMINATION, MENTAL HEALTH and TRAUMA to name a few through a variety of soundscapes based on lived and/or witnessed experiences. He has been widely praised by lectures and colleagues alike, on top of that his results for the first year of the course were stellar, going above and beyond and coming in on nearly every off day to use college facilities to rehearse for self-funded shows or to record for self-made albums. 

Upon entering his second year he was told that he would no longer be allowed to explore subject matter deemed “uncomfortable, insensitive or offensive” by college policy and the learner code of conduct. Jacob is on the Autistic Spectrum and as a result, is classed as neuroatypical. As a result, Jacob has been through discrimination all his life. Music and art for him are an outlet for these experiences, many of which are uncomfortable to discuss, however, they happened and we believe it is essential to acknowledge them otherwise it is comparable to saying they did not happen. Through the college policy, this is not possible. Not for Jacob. Not for any student. This is offensive. This is oppressive.

All of this seemingly goes against active legislation. Under Article 10 Of The Human Rights Act: everyone is entitled to the “freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.” but perhaps we should go a bit closer to home to our own Scottish government’s legislation, Specifically Section 9 of the 2021 Hate Crime Bill states that that behaviour or material is not to be taken to be threatening or abusive solely on the basis that it involves or includes: discussion or criticism of matters relating to—disability,” 

At this point, we would like to point out that currently the college’s policy does not define what “insensitive or offensive is.” (Policy document: https://www.glasgowkelvin.ac.uk/student-charter/ for something so serious we believe that a better definition is needed as opposed to none at all. In addition, the policy and the student charter promise to “Provide an equitable, inclusive and welcoming environment” and to “Provide you with the opportunities to be represented at all levels of College life” interestingly enough however when researching the code of learner behaviour upon clicking the link to go to the “Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion” policy we discovered that it does not exist. This was actually discovered two weeks ago and raised to the college's attention in hopes that they rectify it by publishing such a vital document for the diverse student population of Glasgow Kelvin college. This is still to be updated. We are now over a month into this academic year and the college is yet to publish its own Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion policy. This is offensive.

Glasgow Kelvin touts itself as an inclusive and diverse college and in many ways, it is, however, this infringement of creativity that has been thrust upon its diverse artistic/performance students is unacceptable. Under college policy people of diverse and minority backgrounds are unable to express some of the most horrible experiences as well as any feelings of oppression, they may be feeling. Anyone who is not a straight, white and able-bodied/neurotypical male has been effectively silenced by nonsensical and borderline lawbreaking rules. We demand an immediate change to policies and an apology be issued to any and all artists who feel and have been affected by this outright censorship. Glasgow Kelvin promises to “Facilitate learning to help students achieve their goals”, what is the goal of an artist if not to tell stories, to educate through beautiful art be it a picture, be it a song, be it a book but by enforcing vague and unclear policy it is not. This is offensive.

Art has the power to change the world into a beautiful place, to give a voice to the unheard, to make a positive social change but to achieve that it often has to go to some uncomfortable places. To achieve that it needs the current and next generation to do as those before did and explore the uncomfortable regardless of its ugliness. As Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar once said “Things I’ve been through will probably offend you”