New School Occupied Again

Student activists have occupied a New School building on 5th Avenue and 13th Street and are standing on the roof shouting their demands through a bullhorn and waving the anarchist flag. Good times. The takeover took place around 5 a.m. and is believed to involve some 60 students affiliated with the Radical Student Union, which participated in last year's New School occupation—not to be confused with the more recent NYU sit-in.

In fact, as one student opined on Twitter, those NYU amateurs should take some notes: "New School University students have managed to shut down part of Union Square. At least they know what they are protesting about, unlike NYU." Yeah, but those NYU kids had live streaming webcasts! So far this boring protest doesn't even have a website, and we don't see any keffiyehs up on that roof... yet.

Confirming the Union Square "shut down" boast, a tipster tells us, "Union Square is experiencing a bit of a lockdown... The circling helicopters are buzzing overhead of my apartment—low enough to rattle the glass and there's a lot of sirens. It's going to be a pain in the ass for anyone who lives or works in the area today. Horrible timing if you are trying to get anything done around the neighborhood for the holiday." Ugh, don't these anarchists realize it's Passover and Good Friday?

Once again, the students are demanding the resignation of their university president, Bob Kerrey and Vice President James Murtha. Protester Andy Folk tells NY1, "Our demand for them to resign is consistent with the faculty's 'no confidence' vote in Bob Kerrey. That demand was not met. Other demands were met, such as starting a socially-responsible investment committee, which Bob Kerrey is trying to bury in red tape. So, we need to show him by force and civil disobedience that students have a right over the school that they pay money for."

Kerrey tells the New School Free Press that he's not going to play ball like during the last sit-in: "This is not a university situation, this is an NYPD situation. The students broke and entered into the building...I cannot consider them students at this point." According to Kerrey, the students assaulted the security guard, ejected the facilities worker, and also took his radio. So the police have cordoned off the building, where students have hung a banner reading, "Occupation," in case anyone was wondering.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on April 10, 2009 10:35 AM

Comments [rss]

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

Kill All Juice!

tmz is evil

LOL... Trillions thrown at the quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan... Billions of dollars of bailout money for corporations... Millions of MTA riders about to squeal like a pig a la Ned Beatty in Deliverance... Dozens of cases of police brutality and corruption made public...

And yet they protest this.

mep2134

hey hey

ho ho

neocapitalist fascist hegemonic white patriarchy has got to go!

misguided morons.

Kojak

"...60 students affiliated with the Radical Student Union"

I'd arrest them all. They may have links to Radical Islamic Extremists. http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/radical_islamic_extremists

They must be stopped before they do something really XTREME

theevilone

NY1 is reporting the riot police have entered the building. The parade of unwashed trustafarians in handcuffs to follow.

thefacts

The Rabid Right is out in force today.

If it weren't for protests, the Rabid Right would still be serfs. Remember that.

The Edge

And how is this a redeemable protest?

thefacts

Time will tell.

In a choice between Kerrey and students, why choose to side with that creep?

What has he done that is redeemable, unless you consider slitting the throats of innocent Vietnamese civilians 'redeemable'?

valeriob

What do we want?

"ORGANIC GLUTEN FREE PITA CHIPS"

When do we want it?

"NOW!"

Huffy6241

The New School is a business - the students, their customers.

If these kids have a problem with the service they are receiving - maybe it's time to take their business elsewhere. That's how things work in the real world kids - when a company is at risk of losing market share - it will adapt.

Taking over buildings with "demands" I feel, is a pathetic and juvenile attempt at change. Want to make a real statement? Hit them where it counts, in the enrollment numbers. Be smarter with how you do it - taking over a building, spraypainting anti establishment slogans onto bed sheets and screaming into a bullhorn may look noble and effective in the movies - but it's immature and not a well executed strategy for real reform.

Maybe all you kids will be taken seriously, and maybe even get jobs down the road if you did something smart that made the news, and real change and not come off like a bunch of immature, spoiled losers with an anarchy flag...

schizofriendly

yup.

CR

"NO BLOOD FOR CORPORATE WATER! NO BLOOD FOR CORPORATE WATER!"

BrooklynBredTom

"By force and civil disobedience."

That's a contradicting statement...

Can't they accept the fact all they want is some old fashioned ATTENTION.

Aveais Essex

We're not gonna protest! We're not gonna protest!

Gutter is a tool! Gutter is a tool!

winstonsmith

oh man, brilliant pcu reference.

nycviabos

If these kids hate the school's administration so much, why are they (or their parents) giving it so much money? It's not as if Kerrey's new to the place. They knew he was the school's prez before they even applied. There are lots of other private universities in NYC that will take their tuition and give them an education.

More importantly, shouldn't they be protesting against corporate bailouts or war or something that actually says, "I have youthful ideals."

barryap

Amen. He's been prez since 2001! Did they really want to spend all this money to go to the school, just to protest it?

SeasTooFarToReach

If you don't agree with your school policies, stop wasting your parents money! That school is not cheap at all.

As a graphic designer I can tell you, talent trumps education. Just because you are in the most expensive school doesn't mean you'll be the best professional. Believe me, I had a co-worker that graduated from the New School and there was a lot to be desired.

virgilstarkwell

couldn't agree more.

green

I remember when college students protested real, non-selfish causes, not this self-entitled, "We pay good money" BS.

All I'm saying is, if you're going to protest, aren't there REAL things to protest about?