Student occupation at the New School in NYC

6 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2008-12-18 15:44

derrick

Student activism...From today's New York Times:

About 75 students barricaded themselves in a dining hall at the New School on Wednesday night, holding what they called an occupation to protest the leadership of the institution’s embattled president, Bob Kerrey.

The
protest, which began about 8 p.m., echoed dissidence among many of the
school’s faculty members, who in the past week have cast votes of no
confidence in Mr. Kerrey’s ability to lead the school in Greenwich
Village, which he has run since 2001.

Large recycling containers and tables blocked doorways, and banners went up, some reading “Books Not Bureaucracy.”

Thu, 2008-12-18 15:53

derrick

And the New School's Radical Student Union makes the link between this occupation and some other occupations:

"Members of the New School University occupying 65 Fifth Ave, New York,
NY, USA, stand in solidarity with the people in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Palestine. We stand in direct opposition to the wars and occupations
perpetrated by the U.S. government, private military contractors, and
their proxy forces. As members of New School University, we actively
oppose the war-profiteer, L-3 Communications, Robert B. Millard, the
treasurer of our board of trustees. We demand he be removed from his
position at our university and that colleges and universities across
the U.S. divest from any and all war-profiteers as part of the process
of ending these occupations. We demand an immediate withdrawal of U.S.
forces from Iraq and Afghanistan. We oppose Israel's occupation of
Palestine and demand its immediate end. We call upon colleges and
universities from across the U.S. to divest from any corporation
providing military equipment to Israel as well."

Thu, 2008-12-18 20:55

Lord Palmerston

Quote:
The
original idea of the University in Exile, and the New School in general,
was to be a safe-haven for academic freedom and scholarship free of oppressive
political regimes, be they in Europe or America, and to be a center for
critical engagement with important issues of our times. It was known for
its deep thinkers, its innovative academics, and its committment to social
and political justice as a bedrock of all other scholarship. The New School,
under its current administration, is no longer able to fulfill that role
of critical engagement and dissent. This continued betryal of our founding
principles cannot be tolerated any longer, and the time has come to revive
the University in Exile. This is a call for student action!

http://www.newschoolinexile.com/

Mon, 2008-12-22 19:42

Socrates

Good for these students! More students need to assert that schools belong to them, the students, not the administrators, big money donors or corporate schills on their boards.

Tue, 2008-12-23 01:12

ecopinko

Let's hope this and the Chicago worker's factory occupation are a sign of things to come, and not anomalies.

Tue, 2009-04-14 04:02

Dinka

That was it!
Thanks!