Nearly 100 New School students and others gathered in the University Center lobby to rally against Islamophobia on Monday evening.
Freshman Casey Bell, one of the rally’s three New School organizers, stood in front of the crowd proudly holding a sign that read “Solidarity With Muslims and Refugees.” Senior Indigo Oliver stood by her side, reading off the 14 hallmarks of a fascist regime that were scribbled on the back of her poster. The third organizer, who asked to remain anonymous due to legal issues, began chanting “no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here.”
The rally was organized by Students in Solidarity in response to President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to suspend immigration, which blocks Syrian refugees and issues a 90-day ban on anyone entering the United States from six other predominantly Muslim countries linked to terrorism.
Students in Solidarity originated at The New School, eventually becoming a network of student activists from around New York City who organize together in hope of building a student movement around the values of solidarity, equality and equity for all.
They previously organized an anti-Trump walk-out in November, the day after the election and are continuing to provide a platform for students to voice their concerns in organized demonstrations.
Noura Kiridly, a first-generation Muslim American and the daughter of a Palestinian refugee and a Lebanese immigrant, stood in front of fellow protesters to condemn Trump’s executive order.
“Right now my cousins, my grandmother and my uncles are afraid to try and come to this country for my sister’s wedding because of this ban,” Kiridly said.
One face in the crowd was James Taichi Collins, a 23-year-old political science student from the University of Delaware who found out about the rally through Occupy Wall Street, a website devoted to the Occupy Wall Street movement which is still regularly updated.
Fresh off a flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Collins will be in New York City for a couple of days going from protest to protest. “There’s a lot of momentum here in New York City, I would like to see something like this on my own campus too,” Collins said.
He’s particularly interested in sanctuary campuses, stating that he likes to observe rallies and see what tactics students use, how they organize them and how they approach the faculty and board of trustees who make these decisions. He also stressed the importance of student activism.
“The Vietnam War protests started on campuses, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa started on campuses, and if this resistance against Donald Trump, against mass deportations, against the bigotry, against Muslims has to start with campuses and with student movements,” Collins said.
After organizers listed off protestor rights and warned activists without a passport to be wary, they began the march to Union Square Park. Despite previously being arrested at a protest in front of Trump Towers, Collins was not afraid to join today’s protests. “I’m sure with this crazy administration, it won’t be the last time,” he said.
The rally moved down East 14th Street and stopped at Union Square Park to link up with other universities involved in Students in Solidarity including delegations from NYU, Pratt, Fordham, CUNY, Hunter College and Pace, where a group of approximately 30 had already gathered. The march was planned to continue uptown to meet Columbia and Barnard. NYU’s organizer, freshman Itay Barylka, weaved in and out of knots of marchers to keep the energy alive.
“I think regardless of identity, we understand our liberties are fundamentally intertwined and that unless we start organizing together there’s no way we’ll ever be liberated,” Barylka said.
Alison Gerson and her 3-year-old son Elliot attracted onlookers who snapped away on their phones when he held up his sign which read “Dump Trump My Future Depends On It.”
Dozens of people nearby gathered below the south side steps, scanning signs and recording chants.
Although the rally was initially intended to protest Islamophobia, it quickly turned into a series of chants referencing Trump’s many policies, to the dismay of some who were there.
“I feel like this right here is much more, purely anti-Trump than it is just an anti-Muslim ban,” said Eugene Lang student Liam Donaldson. “I think that as protesters we need to realize that we need to be a little more organized in what we’re fighting for so that people actually listen to what’s happening.”
The organizer of the march was the group Students in Solidarity. An earlier version of this story misstated their name.
Photos by Orlando Mendiola
Sydney is a current Junior studying Journalism & Design at Eugene Lang and the Co-Editor-In-Chief of The New School Free Press. She spends a questionable amount of time responding to emails, remembering coffee orders for her various internships, producing films & frolicking around the Lower East Side where she’s living her New York dream of occupying a bedroom with a brick wall.
