Watkins Students Organize Demonstration, Issue Demands
Students form Save Watkins group in response to the school's announced merger with Belmont
D. PATRICK RODGERS
FEB 4, 2020 3 PM

Students at Nashville’s Watkins College of Art, Design and Film gathered Tuesday to protest the school’s recent merger with private institution Belmont University. The students, representing a group called Save Watkins (see their website here), also issued a press release outlining a mission statement and listing a series of demands.

As previously reported, Watkins is set to transition its operations to Belmont’s campus after the completion of this academic year. That raised concern with students at the art school, who proceeded to question both Belmont and Watkins reps about faculty requirements, the cost of tuition and room and board, protections from discrimination for LGBTQ students, and the job status of current Watkins faculty. 

The Save Watkins students say they initially organized a sit-in protest in the school’s administrative hallway, but were told they needed to move elsewhere because they hadn’t gained approval per the school’s “48-hour advance notice protest policy.” The demonstration subsequently moved outdoors to a sidewalk in front of the campus. 

Link to full article here.