New School students are calling for a student-wide digital strike, beginning Monday, to protest the school’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The strike comes as a result of the University’s choice not to refund partial tuition for the rest of the Spring 2020 semester. The organizers of the strike are also asking for continuation of removal of I (incomplete) and Z (unofficial withdrawal) grades, an extended financial hold waiver, and improvements to the university’s healthcare policy, according to a press release issued by strike organizers. 

Strike participants are also demanding the continuation of pay for dining hall staff, after the dining hall closed on March 23. Despite a statement by UNITE HERE! Local 100, the university and cafeteria workers union, saying that workers are still receiving their usual salaries and benefits, multiple workers have reported to the Free Press that they have not been paid since the cafeteria closed.

One day before the strike began, The New School met one of their demands. The New School reversed its decision to raise tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The strike organizers asked students to not attend classes held on Zoom and not submit work, or to attend Zoom classes on mute with a strike graphic. Organizers also asked students to refuse to register for classes until the demands are met. 

University President David Van Zandt responded to students’ reactions and concerns in an interview with The New School Free Press. 

“Once you get into tuition refunds, it is a very difficult place for almost any university in the country other than the ones that have got a gigantic endowment,” said Van Zandt.

If their demands are not met, students plan on physically occupying the University when campus is opened again. 

Contributed Reporting by Sonya Lustig and Andrew Orellana