The New School Students For Justice in Palestine (TNS SJP), have continued their Gaza Solidarity Encampment and are currently facing threats of suspension due to the ongoing activity in the University Center lobby.
TNS SJP also stated that the university officially terminated negotiation meetings with Mark Diaz, the executive vice president for Business Operations, that were planned for yesterday. The New York Police Department (NYPD) was also present at the demonstration throughout the day.
The students are now facing a multitude of possible university sanctions, ranging from “warnings to expulsion based on a conduct hearing’s deliberation and findings” or an “interim suspension,” according to a statement from Student Conduct and Community Standards.
The meeting set for yesterday was only to occur under the conditions of a discussion TNS SJP had with Interim President Donna E. Shalala, who “stated multiple times that it needed a zero occupancy in the lobby,” according to an email from a university administrator posted on the TNS SJP Instagram. The meeting with Diaz intended to discuss the divestment of “corporations benefiting from and complicit in the ongoing genocide and apartheid against Palestinian people” and complete financial transparency from the university, as well as reinstating the investment advisory committee.
TNS SJP was in the UC lobby chanting with a crowd of about 40-60 people, when at 11:30 a.m., Vice President of Buildings and Campus Operations, Thomas Whalen, began tearing down their posters. According to a press release sent on a public group chat on Telegram from TNS SJP, security did not give them back their posters, “stepping on a scroll listing the names of martyred Gazan academics in the process.”
At 12:08 p.m., TNS SJP received an email from a TNS administrator stating that if the students continued to violate their previous agreement, the meeting with Diaz would not occur and the students would face the threat of suspension. Shortly after, TNS SJP began to bring their tents back up into the UC lobby from the Event Cafe. NYPD arrived at the UC at roughly 1:40 p.m., and at about 1:50 p.m., TNS SJP posted a video showing New School security pushing Professor Shellynne Rodriguez out of the building side entrance.
The students emphasized to the crowd to continue to occupy the lobby, chanting, “Viva Viva Palestina,” as well as other chants.
At around 3:20 p.m., two counter-protesters showed up at the demonstration and pointed phone cameras at TNS SJP members, asking who they were and why they were there. They then took a marker and wrote “Fuck Hamas” on a poster that stated what supplies were needed for the encampment. A TNS SJP member covered it with tape and another poster.
At 4:05 p.m., Ethan Philbrick, a part-time faculty member, stood among the crowd. “As a part-time faculty, we love you, and we support you, and thank you for putting into practice what we talk about in our classes,” Philbrick said.
He then began a performance of “Mawtini,” the unofficial anthem of Palestine, and followed the performance with an “improvised musical offering,” encouraging students to join with chants as he played a cello.
The students continued to chant and moved their barricades and posters back up to the UC lobby. Around 5:20 p.m., a bargaining team told students that the administration was threatening to suspend any student who decided to remain in the lobby for the next 30 minutes. The students present at the encampment came to a vote and decided to continue to occupy the lobby, according to a press release sent out by TNS SJP. They announced that they would hold their Seder celebration in the lobby and began setting up for the Seder at 6:30 p.m.
The Seder began at 7 p.m., and students gathered in the UC Lobby as a member of TNS SJP sang “Kadesh Urechatz” or the Seder Song. Before the student finished their performance, they addressed the crowd, stating, “On all other nights, we study, and we learn, but on this night, we are all Palestine, so let’s sing the final line together.” The group then sang the final line before continuing to listen to the speaker and then ending their evening with a dinner.
The original version of this article implied The New School called The New York City Police Department. However, a spokesperson for TNS has contacted us clarifying that the university did not call the NYPD. While the Free Press cannot corroborate this information, the articles’ language has been updated to clarify the implication.
Additional reporting by Alexiah Syrai Olsen and Zoe Hussain