At Randolph College in Richmond, Virginia, the students take their art seriously. So much so that they’re still angry about the administration’s decision in 2007 to sell four paintings to increase the school’s endowment:

“The protesting is because we haven’t forgotten,” said Katherine Turner, a sophomore and protest organizer. “The art was stolen from (the) campus. … It’s not being displayed and nobody gets to enjoy it. It’s sitting around, going to waste.”

Turner was referring to the three unsold paintings that remain in storage at Christie’s auction house in New York City: “Men of the Docks” by George Bellows, “Peaceable Kingdom” by Edward Hicks and “Through the Arroyo” by Ernest Hennings. The fourth painting, “The Troubadour” by Rufino Tamayo, was sold in May 2008 for a record-breaking $7.2 million.

Randolph Students Renew Protests Over Art Sale (Richmond Times-Dispatch)