Central Students Organise Walk Out for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Tomorrow, Friday 11 May, at 3:15pm, students from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama have arranged a peaceful protest outside the institution.

The Walk Out for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is intended for "students to stand in solidarity together due to the lack of representation of Race, Ethnicity, Place of Origin, Gender, Sex Orientation, Age, Disability, Mental Health, Class, Educational Background, Religion and Spiritual Beliefs at Central," explains current MA student Matthew Frener.

Frener, together with Kayla Votapek, has organised the protest in hopes of creating "a fairer, more inclusive, institution", and supporting those "who feel let down by Central".

He cites Central Student Union's recent Dear White Central events and the subsequent launch of the #CentralSaysEnough pledge.

"There is an abundant amount of work being done by the Student Union and student volunteers to stand up for equity, diversity, and inclusion, and there are also many faculty staff who are creating projects and doing their best to promote equality," notes Frener.

"However, Central - as an institution - still has so many structural inequalities.

"We hope that this event will be a space for students to speak their truth and to stand with one another in solidarity to push Central into creating and implementing more change."

Read our story on Dear White Central and Principal Gavin Henderson's comments here

Photo credit: Maddie Oslejsek