In the wake of the month-long ACT-UAW Local 7902 part-time faculty union strike, The New School University Leadership expressed concerns about how the strike affected students during the time missed in the classroom. As a result, University Leadership and student-run organizations are clashing over different proposals to guide the university out of the last semester’s events. 

In response to student complaints, The New School Administration announced the creation of the Student Remedies Task Force (SRTF) on Jan. 19, 2023. The group is charged with diagnosing how the strike affected students and proposing remedies to the university.
Responding in opposition, One New School Coalition (ONS), a student group founded near the end of the strike, disavowed the formation of the SRTF, highlighting a growing skepticism of The New School Administration’s ability to lead.

In a founding statement for the SRTF, the University said they hoped to “develop recommendations for current and graduating students.” 

The announcement explained that the task force aimed to assess the impact of the strike on the school-wide learning experience and recommend “equitable and achievable remedies” to the Executive Deans and the Provost. 

The admin-run group is described as an “ongoing collaboration between our students, faculty, and staff,” where student and faculty representatives chosen by the Executive Dean will provide recommendations (for each school)  to the administration. Over the course of the Spring semester, meetings with chosen members will be held while allegedly providing regular updates.

Days later, on Jan. 26, ONS sent out an email blast and corresponding Instagram post where the group condemns the formation of the Student Remedies Task Force and called for a complete boycott of the group.

Matene Toure, a graduate student at The New School for Social Research and member of the One New School Coalition, described the student-led organization as aiming to “reinstitute the self governing model The New School was founded upon.” 

ONS says they are working towards the goal of community self-governance through various organized initiatives  as a response to “the complete failure of the neoliberal university model.” One of the more recent efforts from the organization has been through email responses to University announcements regarding the founding of SRTF.

In the same Jan. 26 email, ONS describes the task force as an example of the “indifference to the repeatedly voiced concerns of our community” and “another attempt to mask [the administration’s] lack of care and action.” 

The message also states ONS’ refusal to “take part in a Student Remedies Task Force.” ONS reaffirmed their intent for a “complete boycott of the Student Remedies Task Force” on Instagram just a few days after their email response to administration.

In addition to condemning the University proposal, ONS proposed a set of remedies in response to internal student feedback. Some of these remedies include the relocation of the People of Color space, a tuition freeze, financial transparency, and course material accessibility. The group alleges that their proposed remedies have been ignored by the university.

The New School Press Office has been contacted for a comment regarding One New School, but the Free Press did not receive an answer by the time of publication. 

On campus, word of these emails has been circulating through the student body.

Ras Badejo, a second year graduate student at the College of the Performing Arts, expressed their frustration when receiving the administration’s emails because the announcement did not match the information they were given following the strike. “I literally have a recording of President McBride saying that we’re figuring out how to remedy this” they said, in regards to a town meeting Badejo attended before the email was sent.

Badejo claims President McBride hinted at possible tuition credit or refund. “Now you’re telling me that you’re not giving me my money back.” they said. 

Badejo elaborated on their poor opinion of the administration, expressing the displeasure they feel about the school’s proposed remedies, saying  “Oh, look at the bureaucracy, building more bureaucracy on bureaucracy.”

Mihika Miiand, a fellow graduate student at The College of the Performing Arts, agreed with Badejo, saying the administration’s email and the creation of the SRTF “feels performative.”

One New School is an evolving issue, more information surrounding ONS will come in the following weeks. 

Edited by: Chris Adams

Additional Reporting: Olivia Young and Remy Grimm