The New School In Exile

The New School In Exile: Media

Multimedia : "Just Say No" to Police Brutality Rally video now up!
Posted by alvinjohnson on Sunday, April 19, 2009 (15:08:56) (582 reads)

Video footage from the rally on Thursday April 16th against the actions of police and administrators at the New School. Video from the march is being uploaded now as well. We also have a special addition from another media student at the rally, thanks Richard!

Video 1:

New School, Old Problems from Richard Boggs on Vimeo.

Video 2:

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| Multimedia | Score: 3

Multimedia : New School ruckus leads to more arrests
Posted by wdunleavy on Friday, April 17, 2009 (19:04:07) (675 reads)

Today a public forum was held to discuss recent developments following the occupation in front of the 65 5th Avenue New School campus. Students, faculty, and activists voiced their concerns against New School president Bob Kerrey and expressed their disgust at the way the NYPD have handled themselves. Students shouted situationist-inspired slogans and jokes as the discussion moved towards civil disobedience, blocking traffic and taunting police.

As the mob was dispersed by police it moved to Bob Kerrey's 11th street home until was was again moved and relocated to the site of the New School occupation last week. Marchers linked arms and blocked traffic until the police arrived and made several arrests.

Again the crowd moved, this time to the site of the NYU occupation where Reverend Billy was scheduled to perform an exorcism on the NYU building. He held the attention of protesters for several minutes until some students with a megaphone began shouting at him to stop distracting attention from the actual demonstration. I'm not sure if he finished because the original march moved again to the Sixth Police Precinct to support those arrested in front of the New School building.

More photos in Read More link below...

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| Multimedia | Score: 5

International Student Solidarity Statements with Occupation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Thursday, April 16, 2009 (18:50:36) (434 reads)

Quote:

We urge you to continue organising and mobilising yourselves. They aspire to intimidate us, to drive us back with fear, but we are fighting for too much to be stopped by something so basic. - Bologna

Quote:

With the careful attention we pay to protest movements in other countries, we bared witness to the police repression and brutality that the university administration unleashed on its students. As we are all part of world-wide student struggles, we want to express our solidarity with your movement and all arrestes. - Rome

LETTER 1

Statement of Solidarity from the Comisión Internacional de la CAE in Barcelona

Dear Students of the New School in Exile

I am writing from the Barcelona student movement against the implementation of the Bologna Process, representing the International Commission of the CAE (Student Assembly Coordinator for the assemblies of the four Public Universities of Barcelona), to demonstrate our solidarity with you following the brutal repression of your building occupation. [continued in Read More link below...]

LETTER 2

Solidarity message from La Sapienza University in Rome, Italy.

We, members of the Italian student movement who have been continuously mobilized since last autumn against the cycles of university reform, against an unstable job market and for a new student 'welfare', have passionately followed your action at the New School on April 10. We've been following your struggle for the resignation of President Kerry, guilty in our eyes of creating a corporate university administration who blatantly disregards the interests of the students and faculty, the core of the university. With the careful attention we pay to protest movements in other countries, we bared witness to the police repression and brutality that the university administration unleashed on its students. As we are all part of world-wide student struggles, we want to express our solidarity with your movement and all arrestes. [continued in Read More link below...]

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| Score: 5

Multimedia : RSU press conference on Police Violence - 4/15/09
Posted by alvinjohnson on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 (22:46:51) (547 reads)

Radical Student Union organized Press Conference on April 15 to address violence towards students following the April 10 occupation of the New School.

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| Multimedia | Score: 5

Multimedia : Watch Now - Monday Emergency Campus Assembly
Posted by alvinjohnson on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 (16:07:35) (803 reads)

We have finally got the videos online from the Monday night Emergency Assembly held at the New School on April 13th. The videos are broken into four parts. Part 1 is the Intro and talk by the Interim Provost Tim Marshall, as well as statement from NSSR Dean and Dean's Council rep Michael Schober, David Howell from Graduate Faculty Senate, Student Senate President Peter Cummings and the moderator. Video 2 is University General Counsel Roy Moskowitz and student activists Geeti Das and Pat Korte. Parts 3-12 are the Open Mic speak out that featured students and faculty in discussion with administrators and others. You can also watch the entire playlist on YouTube by clicking right here.

Video 1:

You can watch Videos 2-12 here in the Read More link below...

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| Multimedia | Score: 5

An Open Letter to Julien J. Studley
Posted by alvinjohnson on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 (23:26:52) (281 reads)

An Open Letter to Julien J. Studley

Dear Mr. Studley,

I am writing as an individual concerned student, and sending this to the Provost, the Dean, and the University Student Senate as I have no idea how to get a letter to you directly.

On Friday April 10th a building was occupied and protesters remained inside despite requests by police and security officers to leave. These actions were indisputably illegal but to me the violence of Friday's events was at the hands of the NYPD.

Footage taken by journalists shows a student of our school being tackled to the ground and brutally beaten in return for saying, "Shame" to the policemen. He was then refused treatment until he was released on his own recognizance the next day, and still has wounds covering his face.

Mr. Studley, the actions of the demonstrators outside were not illegal. They were not occupying the building, but exercising their right to assemble and their right to free speech by demonstrating peacefully outside the building. The student who was brutalised by the police engaged in no illegal or violent actions.

Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, has stated publicly that the video footage raises "serious concerns", adding, "That is a violation of civil rights plain and simple."

As a member of the New School community, I am appalled that such actions should have happened on campus, but what deeply saddens me is that neither you nor President Kerrey appear to care for the well-being of students who dissent, or take seriously the issue of civil rights violations at our school.

If we have an administration that does not see fit to condemn outright such actions first and foremost in response to the events of the past weekend, then the New School is not the school I came here to attend. The video footage on Friday was the most depressing thing I have ever seen at this institution. I am deeply disappointed in my education and in the New School.

Sincerely,

Geeti Das

PhD Student
Department of Politics
New School for Social Research
6 E 16th Street, 7th floor
New York, NY 10003

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Graduate Faculty Student Senate Statement on Occupation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 (16:14:15) (340 reads)

The Graduate Faculty Student Senate (GFSS) maintains:

The student body of the New School for Social Research has convened on this evening of April 13, 2009 because there is a undeniable need to respond to the events of April 10, 2009.

The force used by the NYPD against the students and unaffiliated protesters is unacceptable. The GFSS condemns the administration's invitation to the absurd scale of police force on our campus, and the violence of last Friday.

The GFSS demands an independent judiciary committee form through the Faculty and Student Senates to investigate the events of April 10, and the administration's role in the NYPD's response. We cannot trust the administration's press statements. We demand that all academic disciplinary action regarding the New School participants in the occupation of April 10 be suspended until this committee has convened and issued a report. We demand transparency in the disciplinary proceedings.

The standing committee on demonstrations is convened for a purpose and has a mandate that has not been met. The administration's failure to consult the committee suggests it is a vestigial appendage of the bureaucracy meant to pacify complaints rather than address legitimate concerns. A process to overhaul this committee and the University's demonstration guidelines must begin through the Faculty and Student Senates.

The actions of the administration undermine the progress it is supposed to have made since December. By failing to consult the Provost's office, New School President Bob Kerrey has reneged on the promises of change he agreed to in the Minimum Requirements document, and betrayed its spirit of inclusive decision making. This constitutes a conrmation that the current administration still has no commitment to transparency, accountability, or democracy.

We call on the Board of Trustees to hold Kerrey accountable.

Kerrey's conflation of terrorism and the events of September 11, 2001 with the occupation on April 10, 2009 is unacceptable fear-mongering, and is a palpable threat to the large foreign-national population of New School students. We demand an apology from Bob Kerrey, and that he repudiate his statement.

We ask the Faculty Senate to consider this statement, which carries the weight of the NSSR student body, and that they issue a statement to be combined with this one, as well any other student statements, to be released as a joint student-faculty statement.

We urge you to join us in restating the vote of no condence of December 2008.

Best regards,

The Graduate Faculty Student Senate
The New School for Social Research
New York, NY

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| Score: 5

ACT-UAW Local 7902 Statement on Occupation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Monday, April 13, 2009 (18:31:41) (352 reads)

ACT-UAW Statement Regarding the April 10, 2009 Student Occupation of the New School

The part-time faculty union, ACT-UAW Local 7902 of the New School and NYU, is gravely concerned with the Kerrey administration's harsh response to the New School students who recently occupied 65 Fifth Avenue, including a massive show of police force.

President Kerrey's statement about the protest focused only on allegations of student misconduct, ignoring the serious issues raised by the protesters.

We call on the administration to immediately revoke the suspensions of students pending a full investigation of all allegations.

The question should be asked why student dissatisfaction with the administration needs to be expressed in the occupation of a university building. In our view, this protest is symptomatic of the administration's failure to foster a healthy and democratic educational community at the New School.

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Lang Faculty Executive Committee Statement on Occupation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Monday, April 13, 2009 (18:29:50) (349 reads)

The Lang Faculty Executive Committee offers the following statement as a contribution to discussion:

While a full picture of last Friday’s events at 65 5th avenue has yet to appear, the Executive Committee of the Lang Faculty offers the following points for discussion:

1. We state unequivocally that the use of force against persons on the New School campus is completely unacceptable. General staff, indeed all staff and officers, have the right to a safe working environment.

2. We question the decision to call on the NYPD as a first response to the occupation. What should have been the means of last resort was the first resort.

3. We condemn the now well documented use of excessive force by the NYPD and the attempt to deny said use of force by the NYPD.

4. We support students' right to free speech and assembly. We support the right of students to be involved in the process of the governance of their own education. But this support stops short of unprincipled acts of illegality and violence.

5. We maintain that New School students involved in the occupation deserve a fair hearing and due process before action is taken against them by the university.

6. We believe that significant progress has been made by New School faculty and students, in negotiations with the Executive branch of university, and on a wide range of issues. We enjoin all parties of the university to maintain a constructive dialogue within the reform process of this great institution.

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Economics Student Union Statement on Occupation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Monday, April 13, 2009 (18:28:55) (430 reads)

The Economics Student Union (ESU) at the New School for Social Research issues the following statement regarding the events of April 10, 2009.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

We, the students of the Economics Department of the New School for Social Research, express solidarity with all individuals who occupied the 65 Fifth Avenue building on April 10 2009, who have been suspended from school because of their actions, and who were arrested and physically harmed by the brutality of the New York Police Department.

We believe in the legitimacy of this protest and we agree with its premises: the inadequacy of the current President Bob Kerrey and Vice-President James Murtha to lead The New School, as stated in the no-confidence vote by Senior Faculty members in December 2008.

We protest forcefully against the President's misrepresentation and exaggeration of the events of April 10, as circulated internally within the New School mailing lists and as reported to the media.

We protest against the President's calling in of the New York City Police Department in response to a peaceful demonstration, his escalation of the situation, and his refusal to negotiate directly with the occupiers.

We condemn the brutal repression methods adopted by the NYPD, after having been called in by President Kerrey, the result of which is the silencing of voices of disagreement within the University.

We believe in the spirit of dissent that gave birth to The New School, and we are not willing to tolerate such an abusive exercise of power which stands in clear contradiction to the University's founding principles and ongoing mission.

For these reasons, we call on the administration to immediately revoke the suspensions of our fellow students and pursue the dismissal of all criminal charges against all individuals involved in the occupation. We urge the Trustees of the University to distance themselves from the violence perpetrated by the NYPD. We request that the Interim Provost and Faculty Senate begin an immediate independent investigation into the handling and approval of police force by the senior administration.

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Students Respond to New School Lies About Occupation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Monday, April 13, 2009 (18:14:00) (993 reads)

We would like to set the record straight about a few things.

In a series of messages to the New School community by President Bob Kerrey and others, the occupation of 65 5th Avenue on Friday, April 10th, is being painted as violent, and student protesters' commitment to non-violent demonstration is being questioned. We can debate all day about rhetoric and what has been written by individual students ostensibly involved in the December occupation, or we can look at the actions themselves.

On Friday, protesters entered a building, peacefully escorted a maintenance worker off the premises, and barricaded themselves inside, refusing to comply with the NYPD's demands that they leave, until several hours later when they opened the locks at the request of the NYPD. The NYPD's own footage shows that when the police entered the building the protesters were sitting peacefully on the floor in the lobby. They allowed themselves to be handcuffed one by one, not resisting arrest in any way.

Allegations that the protesters "broke into" the building are false, the only serious damage to property was committed by the police when they broke through the front entrance. So in what way were the protesters supposed to have been violent? The only instance of "violence" cited by Bob Kerrey is a scuffle with a security officer who was trying to open a door from the outside and reportedly hurt his leg as it got caught in the door when the protesters shut it. Any injury he incurred was accidental and unintended. Kerry released a statement that this man went to the emergency room at Saint Vincent's. The implication of Kerry's statement is that the man was seriously injured and admitted to the hospital. This is false. Witnesses saw this man walking and running around the area for the entire morning and the New School Free Press reports that Saint Vincent's has no record of him ever being admitted.

The official response to the occupation, on the other hand, was in no way peaceful. The use of pepper spray against those inside the building when they attempted to leave was violent. Forcibly clearing student supporters from the surrounding streets was violent. Footage on the New York Times website shows, and eyewitnesses have described, one protester being wrestled to the ground, and another, who appears only to be speaking to the NYPD, being jumped on by several police officers and screaming as he was held down and brutally beaten. This protester, a New School student, sustained concussion and serious wounds to his head and face that were only treated when he was released from jail the following day.

Apparently, the peaceful occupation of a building by a small number of people warranted the massive spectacle of police violence we witnessed on Friday, with entire streets blocked off, more than 100 police vehicles on the scene, and riot police being called in. Bob Kerrey has stated that the occupation could not be handled by New School security and that the NYPD needed to be called in. He argued that because the occupation was illegal, it was not a demonstration. Although the Demonstrations Policy is ostensibly meant to "protect the rights of demonstrators", Kerrey decided that the occupation could not be considered a demonstration and was "not political", despite explicit indications to the contrary on the occupation banners and blog. On what grounds did he determine this? Who gets to decide what is or is not a demonstration? Were other members of the university administration, such as the Provost, consulted, or was this a unilateral Executive decision? And even if those who occupied the building were not considered demonstrators, what about the violations of the rights of those who were demonstrating in solidarity outside the building?

The demonstrations policy states that "absolutely no form of physical violence or intimidation can be tolerated" on the part of demonstrators. But mobilizing the massive repressive apparatus of the riot police (or massacring an entire village in Vietnam) are apparently okay.

As for the action itself, people have claimed that the intent was unclear. This is baffling. The banners and the blog and the "Occupation FAQ" that were circulated that morning made it explicit—even though the action spoke for itself. The purpose of an occupation is to occupy. To fill a space, to change its use, to reclaim it. There is no space in the New School right now that could reasonably be called a student space—one that doesn't need to be reserved, that meets students' needs, where students can freely express themselves peacefully, or that they can even decorate.

Occupation as a tactic is not antithetical to efforts for reform within the university. On the contrary, this action was a response to the lack of truly democratic outlets for effecting change within the university that we have seen since the December occupation. The changes that have been presented have minimally satisfied the need for immediate democratic process within the university—minor concessions such as these simply serve to quell student and faculty grievances rather than solving them. And these changes have been accompanied by policies and actions on the part of the administration to intimidate protesters and dissenters into silence. This occupation if anything is reinvigorating a critical discussion of change at the university and the need for Kerrey's removal.

Whatever your views on tactics may be, it is still necessary to reflect on what led people to this in the first place. What are students to do when there is no avenue on campus for expression without being threatened if the administration doesn't like what you're saying? A peaceful teach-in a few weeks ago was taken over by security guards and students were threatened with expulsion and arrest, even though no classes were disturbed and no exits were blocked. Our Demonstration Guidelines, suddenly dusted off in the wake of the first occupation, are an insult to anyone's intelligence. To have to apply for a permit to hold a peaceful demonstration makes a mockery of what a demonstration is. Any demonstration so circumscribed is a lamentable excuse for a protest.

To argue that the police violence was necessary is to argue that the course of Friday's events was inevitable. We are not so lacking in imagination. Imagine, instead, if the NYPD had not been called in; if protesters had been allowed to stay in the space and open the doors and let others in; if 65 5th Avenue, instead of sitting empty and taunting us with all that unused space while the administration keeps changing its mind as to what to do with it, had become, however briefly, a space where students could meet and gather and study and celebrate and make art together.

Better yet, imagine a university in which students didn't have to fight for these things in the first place.

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Multimedia : CAT THEMED CATASTROPHE
Posted by wdunleavy on Sunday, April 12, 2009 (19:35:19) (1565 reads)

In a video from Friday night's rally, Andy Folk dispels rumors and summarizes the events of the second New School occupation. Also last night, a march to New School president Bob Kerrey's house was met with more force from police.

Today, the anarchist book fair was held and a cat themed dance party called "CATastrophe" was announced in Union Square. Participants were told to show up in their best cat costumes, which many did. The party moved into the subway, where a dance party and Bob Marley sing along took place (thanks Bob Marley cover guy on the L platform.) The cat party exited the subway system at First Avenue where they began smashing storefront windows, spraypainting anarchist slogans on walls and throwing trashcans into the street.

The procession moved in unpredictable patterns around midtown Manhattan for about two hours, encountering sporadic skirmishes with waiting police. Property damage was met with pepper spray and physical assault, and eventually the party moved back to Union Square where it fizzled out. Photos are below with cat party graphic censors because I am not a snitch. Whose streets? Well it's unclear, but things certainly do look good for the children of Guy Debord and Raoul Vaneigem.

More photos at the Read More link below...

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| Multimedia | Score: 3

Multimedia : Videos, more videos, and even some animation
Posted by alvinjohnson on Sunday, April 12, 2009 (02:21:22) (373 reads)

More about the Friday Rally:

A large group gathered at Union Square and held a rally there, with a number of students talking and speaking about issues at the New School and in New York City. After holding the rally the group spontaneously marched and took to the streets, taking over parts of 14th St, 6th Ave, 11th and 12th St, and 5th Ave. During the march traffic was stopped and disrupted, the group rallied in front of Bob Kerrey's house, demanding his resignation, and then marched back to Union Sq. Several people were arrested by the NYPD, and at least one instance of police violence was documented when an officer assaulted a reporter filming the event.

NEW!!
Three videos from Friday night Rally and March at Union Sq.

Video 1: Rally and speaker talking about attack on students and the occupation

Video 2: Mini documentary of rally and march Friday night

Video 3: Last part of student march documenting arrests and more police violence towards students.

The World of Bob Kerrey:

Check out our newest media endeavor, the first New School produced animated talk show called The World of Bob Kerrey. In Episode 2 Bob talks with our host Announce Announce about how he handled the student occupation on Friday April 10, 2009.

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| Multimedia | Score: 3

The Face of Fascist New York Revealed - NYPD and Bob Kerrey's True Nature
Posted by alvinjohnson on Friday, April 10, 2009 (22:24:41) (382 reads)

Video of excessive police force during and after the New School re-occupation April 10, 2009.

VIDEO 1: Cops chase students down the street, attacking people along the way

VIDEO 2: Shortly after the first video above, police attack and arrest more people

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Occupation Photos (Best occupation yet!)
Posted by wdunleavy on Friday, April 10, 2009 (22:05:51) (638 reads)

So around 6 AM, a group of Situationist-inspired students of the New School entered their school, sealed the doors, climbed on to the roof, draped signs and occupied the building for several hours. Once on the roof, they shouted through a megaphone explaining their reasoning for occupying the building. However they were soon forced to retreat inside as police barricaded the doors and took control of the exterior building.

To quote a flyer that was distributed outside the building, "Their demands are simple: the resignation of President Kerrey and full control of the building."

It was certainly the most exciting in a series of university occupations that have happened in New York City during the past four months. The New York Police Department responded as if a bank robbery had occurred, with literally hundreds of police cars, helicopters, riot police, and eventually tear gassed the occupiers inside the building. By noon, everyone involved had been gassed and arrested, indicating a much more hardline approach to university occupation than has been seen in the past few months.

Thanks for these great photos from Exquisit Corps. More photos at the Read More link below...

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