Campus police pepper sprayed and arrested two protesters today during at sit-in at City College of New York, Runnin' Scared reports.
The incident occurred when the protesters tried to force their way into the recently shuttered Morales-Shakur Center, which was closed by the school to make way for a "career center." One of the protesters, alumni David Suker, had his young son in tow, though the child was handed off to other protesters when the arrest was made.
CCNY released the following statement:
Today, a peaceful student demonstration at City College was interrupted when a nonstudent, using his child as a shield, tried unsuccessfully to bypass public safety officers and enter the Administration Building. Subsequently, the nonstudent along with a group of people rushed across the street to enter the North Academic Building from the Amsterdam Street side. A door was pulled from the hinge, causing the situation to become unsafe. As a result, public safety officers arrested one person for endangering the welfare of a minor, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and another person was cited for disorderly conduct. City College continues to respect peaceful protests while maintaining safety.
The center was long used as a meeting place for activist groups, and while university officials insist the conversion was simply a matter of space, others say it was because City College felt threatened by the activities that went on there.
“I think that the CUNY administration is really scared of a lot of the organizing and community-building coming out of the building,” Alyssia Osorio, director of the Morales/Shakur Center told the Times.
