f20 NYU protest includes topfree women

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[from]
Washington Square News

Kimmel in limbo
WSN Staff

Published: Friday, February 20, 2009
Updated: Friday, February 20, 2009


Phillipe Teston/WSN
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OCCUPIED: Take Back NYU’s Kimmel sit-in shifted from a peaceful protest to a chaotic revolt as the group’s demands were not met by the university.
Casey Drake/WSN

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Philippe Teston/WSN

At press time [20 Feb. 2009],
the fate of the participants in the ongoing occupation of the Kimmel Center
is still unknown.

Emily Stainkamp, a CAS sophomore involved in the occupation led by Take Back NYU, confirmed that the protesters demanded amnesty for the night in response to university officials threatening arrests and expulsion for anyone remaining in the third floor cafeteria after 1:45 a.m.

But according to James Devitt, an NYU spokesman, there has been no status change for the protesters.

At the time Devitt spoke on the issue, Stainkamp told WSN that 20 students remained in the cafeteria; at the start of the first night, 65 were participating in the effort.

Before the temporary conclusion, tensions in and around the student center were running high. At 1 a.m., close to 200 people gathered on Washington Square South, chanting and screaming. NYPD officers lined the street, trying to keep calm in front of the building’s entrance. But when protesters tried to move police barricades, the police retaliated.

“People were maced,” said DeLayne DeMorgandie, a sophomore from Hunter College, who was standing in the front of the crowd with two friends. “Everyone at the front of the line was pepper sprayed.”

A call to NYPD at 1:25 a.m. resulted in no new information; they had not heard of the current problems at and outside the student center.

The events of the early morning were appropriate conclusions to the first day of the occupation, which saw action almost every hour, some of it serious, some of it silly.

Things picked up soon after noon when two students,
Gallatin sophomore Keri Lyons
and CAS sophomore Nadia Collado, showed up
topless
in front of Kimmel in what they called
“a show of solidarity for Take Back NYU.”

“Naked people tend to get people’s attention,”
Lyons said.

Soon after the stunt, the protesters got reinforcements; shortly before 1 p..m. on Thursday, 18 students rushed the third floor dining hall, storming past NYU’s security street-level barricades and pushing through public safety officers stationed outside the cafeteria’s doors.

A little less than an hour later, NYU officials threatened to suspend or expel students who damaged university property or refused to stop protesting.

But just minutes after this statement, TBNYU supporters forced the lock on the doors that lead to the third floor outdoor balcony of Kimmel — a spot previously declared off-limits by NYU officials. More than 50 students left the cafeteria for the balcony and chanted down to supporters in front of the entrance to Kimmel.

“This is what democracy looks like!”
they cried.

During this time, public safety was revamping their security coverage.

“Due to the emergency in Kimmel Center, everyone working the 7 to 3 [shift] will be held over until further notice,” they said in a statement shortly after 3 p.m. Guards also lost their lunch breaks.

While the protesters were busy on the balcony, Executive Director of Student Affairs Robert Butler extended the university’s threats of expulsion and suspension with an ultimatum: Student protesters who hadn’t left the third floor cafeteria by 1 a.m. would be considered trespassers.

Inside the room, the participants weren’t deterred.

“They can’t expel 60 people,” CAS senior Banu Quadir said. The students on the balcony continued to chant, saying,
“We are the people,
and we are the fucking power.”

Despite the apparent stalemate, the university approached the students with a plan to start negotiating, but it was in vain.

In a meeting with student representatives from TBNYU, NYU officials said that if the students vacated the room by 4 p.m., a meeting would be held at 5 p.m. to allow five protesters to meet with Senior Vice Provost Linda Mills and Senior Vice President for University Relations and Public Affairs Lynne Brown.

But members of the occupation didn’t like those options.

Caitlin Boehne, a CAS senior, student council senator and a participant in the protest, told WSN that the protesters are not ready to leave unless guards are paid fully for overtime work and protesters are ensured full amnesty for the sit-in.

At the 4 p.m. deadline, the occupants were clearly not leaving the held room; they were asking for food donations by bucket. TBNYU members dangled a clear plastic bucket from the third floor balcony, pleading for food donations from the crowd below. When the bucket finally reached the ground, Public Safety officers and the demonstrators engaged in a tug-of-war; the officers won.

Shortly after, Owen Moore, NYU dining services director, offered the protesters food. TBNYU accepted, noting its objection and on the condition that the food was not considered part of the negotiation.

“We’re not involved in negotiations,” Moore said.
“We just want to know if you’re hungry.”

Two floors above the occupation, NYU’s student senate met for a regular meeting. Matt Schulte, a member of NYU’s student senate, told WSN he thought what TBNYU was doing was unprofessional.

“Personally, I find their protest to be an embarrassment to the university and to me as a student,” Schulte said.

A few hours later, more students forcefully joined the takeover. Shortly after 9 p.m., a large group of students rushed into the dining hall, pouring through a back staircase and sprinting down a hallway, dodging guards and metal barricades.

Twenty-eight students made it inside the cafeteria. Two guards were injured in the break-in; one was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in an ambulance for wounds to the head. A student inside the barricaded room sustained minor cuts and bruises.

Throughout the day, the events at Kimmel gained increased media attention. As the 1:45 a.m. deadline inched closer and the crowds got rowdier outside the building, campus conservation about the actions skyrocketed; NYU was the sixth most-talked about subject on Twitter at the time, just behind Chris Brown.

“The whole world is watching,”
protesters chanted into a megaphone on the occupied balcony.
“Negotiate!”

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This story was written and reported by Marc Beja, Kyle Cheromcha, Sara Dover, Thomas Garry, Sara Gates, Andres Gutierrez, Sergio Hernandez, Nate Jones, Randy Kreider, Daniel Levinsohn, Vanessa Liu, Michael McCormack, Arielle Milkman, Taylor Miller, Richa Naik, Adam Playford and Jane C. Timm.
It was compiled and edited by Rachel Holliday Smith and Mary Jane Weedman.
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http://www.nyunews.com


Comments
15 comments
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just another NYU snob Mon Feb 23 2009 17:51 It's funny how we call ourselves a democracy, and the moment someone breaks a lock, disrupts our sweet surrender to a system so far off from democratic ideals, we're all so shocked. You're right, let's stay quiet and keep paying what most of us can't even provide for...this country makes a lot of sense, right?!
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Your name Fri Feb 20 2009 15:52 This is why I hate NYU. Stupid students contradicted with a great school.
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Avman Fri Feb 20 2009 15:08 "They can either have a free and open Palestine or free and open library, but not both." No, I'm afraid they can't have either.
NYU is not responsible for the situation in Gaza. Bobst was not built to serve the general public.
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Mozy Fri Feb 20 2009 14:40 I don't understand them. They chose to enroll here, if they don't like NYU, they can leave.
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Your name Fri Feb 20 2009 12:47 Calling these extremist acts the result of our misguided liberal philosophy is like calling neo Nazi or ultra neo con result of a failed conservative evangelical movement. Extremist acts are NEVER representative of anything. So fellow Americans from both side of the aisle, let's discuss our national issues in a mature adult-like manner. OK?
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David K, class of '94 Fri Feb 20 2009 12:00 I'm sure that Hamas, the governing regime in Gaza, will appreciate the topless women protesters.
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Rob Fri Feb 20 2009 11:53 "This is what democracy looks like". That is perhaps the most absurd statement made by them - which is quite an accomplishment. What they are doing is not democratic. Few students actually agree with them. This is why college kids aren't considered adults by many - they are demonstrating the maturity of a fifteen year old.
Nat Fri Feb 20 2009 10:31 It seems like some of these Kimmel protesters don't understand the meaning of the word 'negotiate.' Last I checked, it didn't quite mean 'give me everything that I want, or I'll throw an even bigger temper tantrum.'
heylook! Fri Feb 20 2009 09:05 Are you kidding me? Injuring underpaid NYU public safety officers to express your freedom of speech? What is your point? This "protest" is comparable to a two-year-old child throwing a tantrum. It's irrational to think that all of these demands are going to be met when these students are asking for contradicting changes--scholarships and decreased tuition??, and where does a public bobst library and the coca-cola ban fit into all this? It's like every big protest or issue on campus for the past five years these students want to get resolved immediately. It's instant gratification at its worst and its hurting the people hired to protect the students! Do they really think the university will meet their other demands of paying the security guards overtime? Do they think it's not costing the university money to send the guards to the hospital??
This is just the most outrageous, petty and misguided attempt at democracy I've ever seen on campus. It truly is an embarassment. This is why everyone else in New York City hates NYU students.

Your name Fri Feb 20 2009 08:58 I think both WSN and NYU Local have done excellent work covering the Kimmel Takeover, but the above comment is just unnecessary. You bash WSN reporters enough as it is on your site. Its unnecessary that you need to post those remarks over here.
david Fri Feb 20 2009 08:43 This is way better than reality TV. Sucks that I can't Tivo it.
Yaomin Fri Feb 20 2009 07:34 "Two guards were injured in the break-in; one was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in an ambulance for wounds to the head."
And part of the demands is more respect/better pay for the guards?
This whole event reeks of privileged white guilt.

It's obvious that NYU rapes New York & isn't very generous with its staff, but what is this protest really saying? If these kids want to change something, stop giving NYU 50thou every year.
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Evan Fri Feb 20 2009 06:33 They can either have a free and open Palestine or free and open library, but not both.
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smoothie Fri Feb 20 2009 06:16
Ban NYC horse drawn carriages and end the cruelty.
keep up the fight kids. this is democracy.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nakity/
SUN, POB 426937, SF, CA 94142-6937
Aphroditic freedom 'til death!

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