Following a fumigation of the Lang basement on April 5th, which caused roaches to rain down from the ceilings and allegedly made several professors gag, cough, and suffer from nosebleeds, one student organized a class walkout that roughly 30 students attended. Standing on and around the courtyard steps, students and faculty alike voiced concerns about the administration’s treatment of this situation, among others.
Caroline Moyer, a fourth-year BAFA student at Lang and Parsons, organized the April 11th walkout and said she was frustrated not only by the danger students and faculty members were put in by the pesticides from the fumigation, but the lack of explanation and acknowledgment from the university.
Professors and students said they were not informed that pesticides would be sprayed––something which affected the air quality in the basement. Yet, an email was sent out last Thursday as a reminder that smoking in the Lang courtyard is prohibited because of “the well-documented adverse effects of exposure to secondhand smoke,” completely ignoring how the pesticides affected students and faculty in the basement as well.
“The fact that the New School in the wake of poisoning, instead of sending out a university wide email saying, ‘This is what happened, this is what we did to our faculty, this is the real story,’” said Moyer, “They deviated attention to the smoking in the courtyard. Blaming it on the students, blaming it on the ventilation.”
The email reminded students that if they were caught smoking in the courtyard they would be subject to discipline, as well as advising students “to find time amid your studies to take care of yourself. Join a fitness class, spend time with friends, eat nutritious meals, and relax.”
This statement did not please Moyer.
“To join a fitness class is ableist and discriminatory against students here who actually have desire to commune in our only space [Lang courtyard] to do that,” Moyer said in reference to the suggestion of joining a fitness class, an expense not every student can afford.
Moyer stood on the steps of the courtyard, those in attendance snapping when they agreed with what she and others said. Moyer facilitated the conversation between the students and handful of faculty members present.
“What we want is a safe and healthy place to work. I have to be in my office eight to 10 hours a day,” said Julie Napolin, New School literature professor of four years with an office in the basement of Lang, about the cigarette smoke and ventilation issue. “People are nursing, people have kids, and there are people in the third floor offices who have to leave all the time. And now we’ve learned that there are pesticides constantly down there in the space that you share and we didn’t even know about it.”
According to Napolin, Cecilia Rubino a professor in the theatre department, had cockroaches falling onto her desk from the ceiling while meeting with freshman students.
Lang senator Nika Lomazzo said that the email could be the school trying to divert attention from the pesticides.
“I don’t think the school is evil,” Lomazzo said. “I don’t think they were intentionally trying to hurt anyone. I just think they’re extremely disorganized, and I do think they were covering their tracks by sending out this email about the smoking ban.”
One thing was certain about the walkout, both students and faculty members want more of a dialogue with the New School’s administration.
“I just think this is an example of the lack of transparency,” Lomazzo said. “We need a liaison who can speak between the students and faculty and the administration.”
The communications department did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Truman is the Editor-in-Chief for The New School Free Press and a senior in the Journalism + Design program at Lang. He has also contributed online content for both Interview Magazine and V Magazine, talking with musicians, directors and a variety of other artists. Born in raised in Oakland, California, he now lives in Bed Stuy with a witchy roommate who is always down to burn some candles with him.
