Cops Arrest New School Students at Police Brutality Protest

Two New School students and one academically unaffiliated protester were arrested last night for blocking traffic on Fifth Avenue during a demonstration against police handling of last week's occupation of a university building. According to the New School Free Press, about 150 students, faculty, and supporters gathered outside the site of the occupation around 6 p.m. to condemn the NYPD and, once again, demand the resignation of president Bob Kerrey, who protesters blame for encouraging what they're calling a "brutal" and "violent" end to Friday's sit-in.

After some speeches and chanting, the group proceeded to Kerrey's house on West 11th Street for some more chanting, then advanced to the site of last December's occupation at 65 Fifth Avenue. The Free Press reports that police were trying to get students onto the sidewalk because they were blocking traffic, and that's when the arrests were made. Angered, the protesters proceeded down Fifth Avenue, some sending a hardcore Message to the Man by "kicking garbage bags and orange cones into the middle of the street."

Then the unthinkable happened: The New School occupiers joined forces with the Take Back NYU occupiers, forging a united front of Keffiyah scarf solidarity outside the Kimmel Center, some 60 malcontents strong. And as if that wasn't badass enough, mayoral candidate and ubiquitous gadfly Reverend Billy was on the scene; in a speech to the crowd, he strongly condemned the "corporatization of the two schools."

After he was done, the 30 remaining New School students wandered off through Washington Square Park toward the Sixth Precinct to demand the release of their comrades. But along the way, an argument broke out between the protesters and NYU students playing whiffleball. One of the complacent bourgeois ball-playing sheep told the Washington Square News, "We were just playing. And they said we’re wasting our money going to NYU." (More photos here.)

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By John Del Signore in News on April 17, 2009 10:51 AM

Comments [rss]

Clarice City

Jesus H. Christ. Go to class already.

mx0

"academically unaffiliated "

Nice turn, there. I rip on terrible writing on Gothamist posts from time to time; allow me to praise this diction. Well done.

dinoroar

The really upsetting part is that the students and faculty have legitimate reason to want Kerrey to step down, but this immature attention grabbing is working against their cause. Everyone would have been better off if more students spoke up when the faculty did instead of letting the "radical student union" or "new school in exile" throw temper tantrums that put the sheep in danger. The job now is to figure out how to calm everyone down so that the school can function.

aveB4life

these kids shoudl have donebetter so they could go to nyu

whitecastlerock

DROP THE FUCK OUT ALREADY

ANGRYGOD11

Anyone remember the drunken off-duty cops demonstrating against then Mayor Dinkins? Some were violent slobs, but as far as I know they weren't punished in the least.

hotstepper

agitators agitating for the sake of agitation. next!

thefacts

^ Such haters

The Rabid Right is out in force.

Global Wombat

No, I'm pretty sure many liberals are embarrassed by this bratty nonsense.

thefacts

What I read here by the Rabid Right is what was said about the '68 Columbia and '70 Kent State protesters, et al.

Some people prefer college kids play wiffleball or get hight in their spare time. It breeds fine sheep.

Global Wombat

You continue using empty-headed jibe, such as "Rabid Right", and "sheep" - and I'll continue to laugh at those that are too base to know that there are ways of showing civil protest without raiding buildings and kicking traffic cones onto the street - nobody is impressed by a toddler tantrum.

'68 Columbia and '70 Kent State protesters

Oh, and it's off topic, but would you care to take a guess at which generation is the one that's brought us into the economic pooper?

thefacts

In response to your question:

a 'generation' of avaricious bankers, mortgage or brokerage company executives, encouraged by free-market de-regulation - led by a right-wing Republican president for eight years of incompetency.

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

Please don't feed "TheFacts" folks.

The Edge

No, not really.

JenChungsThong

um, yeah..when i was in college i was too busy working full time to pay my way thru school/studying/writing papers, etc. to 'protest'.

get over yourselves.

get a job.

idiots.

moocowtoo

I definitely support them in Solichairity: http://solichairity.com

moocowtoo

I definitely support them in Solichairity: http://solichairity.com

Dirk

Did someone mention teabagging?

S.D.

"The New School occupiers joined forces with the Take Back NYU occupiers, forging a united front of Keffiyah scarf solidarity"?

John, you're officially Eeeeevvvvvillll.

I swear, I laughed while reading this post...

nicemarmot

I hope the cops tossed the kids in the garbage they threw in the street.

Note to all college students: this is not the 60s. You need to find a different way to effect change. "The man" figured out the protest thing a long time ago.