Vanderbilt students, Nashville Scene reporter arrested during sit-in

Vanderbilt students gathered outside of the Downtown Detention Center on Wednesday, March 27, cheering on the last member of their group to be released. 

"I went to jail today. I was arrested at about 5 a.m. in my own university. I was taken, I was handcuffed, brought in the back of a police car, and taken downtown," freshman Jack Petocz, part of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition, recalled.

A video shared by Vanderbilt showed a group of students rushing into Kirkland Hall on Tuesday, March 26, during which time school officials said a community service officer was assaulted. The building was closed; however, members of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition wanted to make a point with a sit-in outside the chancellor's office.   

"We've been protesting inside Kirkland Hall to demand that our chancellor, Daniel Diermeier, reinstate a referendum to divest our student government funds from a genocide ongoing in Gaza, to listen to student voices, and stop the suppression of pro-Palestinian organizers on this campus," Petocz explained.  

The Vanderbilt Divest Coalition told News 2 they weren't allowed to vote on that issue. 

During the sit-in, students said they were denied access to food, water and bathrooms. Ultimately, four students were arrested early Wednesday morning. 

"The Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Magistrate's Office has charged three students with Class A misdemeanor assault after pushing a Community Service Officer and a staff member who offered to meet with them as they entered Kirkland Hall on Tuesday. A fourth student has been charged with vandalism after breaking a window on the building's exterior last evening," Vanderbilt Media Relations said in a statement sent to News 2.

"Inside was far better than what I experienced in Kirkland. I was given access to water, I was given access to a bathroom. Imagine that — a student going to jail and having better access and more humane living conditions than that of a top 20 university in this country," Petocz told News 2. 

Amongst the chaos, Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka was also arrested. Vanderbilt said the reporter had been asked to leave the closed building and did not have the proper clearance to be in the building. However, in the video, the reporter can be heard saying he had not been warned. Ultimately, the charges were dropped. 

"It's alarming and disappointing that Vanderbilt University — with so many eyes on them as a result of ongoing student protests — would arrest a reporter in the process of doing his job. I'm proud of our reporter Eli Motycka, as well as our education reporter Kelsey Beyeler and our photographer and reporter Hamilton Matthew Masters, who were also present at the sit-ins on Tuesday," Nashville Scene Editor-in-Chief D. Patrick Rodgers said. "I appreciate their commitment to covering this important ongoing story about Vanderbilt University students exercising their free speech. We'll have more coverage in the days to come."

As for the students arrested, the Nashville Community Bail Fund helped pay for some of them to be released. The organization hopes students won't stop standing up for what they believe. 

"These children, who decided to take a stand about something that they believe, will be criminally impacted for the rest of their lives, whether we get them out on bail or not, and so, I think it's a horrible lesson for Vanderbilt to send to kids," said Cyrus Wilson, executive director of the Nashville Community Bail Fund.  

You can read Vanderbilt University's full statement from Wednesday below: 

UPDATE: March 27, 2024, 1:30 p.m.

All students remaining inside Kirkland Hall, the university's main administration building, left voluntarily around 6 a.m. today after forcibly entering the building [see video] shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. All of the protest participants who breached the building will be placed on interim suspension.

The Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Magistrate's Office has charged three students with Class A misdemeanor assault after pushing a Community Service Officer and a staff member who offered to meet with them as they entered Kirkland Hall on Tuesday. A fourth student has been charged with vandalism after breaking a window on the building's exterior last evening.

A reporter was detained outside the building after making repeated attempts to enter several locked doors and being asked to leave. He was later released, and not charged.

Another group of student protesters gathered outside the building this morning. The university will work with them to ensure they can remain consistent with the university's policies for peaceful demonstration.

Free expression is a core value at Vanderbilt, as is civil discourse. Our policies allow for members of the Vanderbilt community to protest and demonstrate regarding issues they care deeply about. Dozens of peaceful demonstrations have occurred over the past several months. In consideration of safety and the university's normal operations, we, as a matter of policy, define time, place and manner limitations. The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority. The university will take action when our policies are violated, the safety of our campus is jeopardized and when people intimidate or injure members of our community.

Additional Update on Reporter Incident

Yesterday's protest at Kirkland Hall was not a peaceful one. It began with the assault of a Vanderbilt community service officer and continued with protesters physically pushing Vanderbilt staff members with the hope of entering and occupying the chancellor's office. As a result, the building remained on lockdown and members of VUPD were on high alert. It is in this context that the Nashville Scene reporter, after repeated attempts to enter the administration building through multiple locked doors with signs noting the building was closed and being told by officers it was off limits, was eventually detained, arrested and released without charges filed.

It has long been the practice of Vanderbilt University to grant access to members of the media who request and receive clearance to be on campus. In yesterday's case, though the reporter made his presence known, he did not have permission to access locked administrative buildings, which are on private property.