Non-New School visitors were allowed into the University Center, without being signed in by TNS community members, for an event Wednesday night with Norman Finkelstein, a political scientist, activist, and critic of Israel. 

The talk was hosted by The May Day Student Organization, the Jewish Culture Club (JCC), and the New School Outdoors Club. Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Departmental Faculty Advisor in the Anthropology department, Abou Farman moderated the event. Finkelstein discussed the historical context of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, before Oct. 7th, and how to address and engage in conversations about the conflict.

An Instagram post advertising the event stated that RSVPs were required for the event, and that Students for Justice in Palestine (TNS SJP) would livestream the talk on their Instagram.

A member of TNS’s Campus Security told The New School Free Press that they were unsure which administrative representative authorized the event to be open to the public. Campus Security let people in who did not have a New School ID card and directed them to the John L. Tishman Auditorium without following the general protocol of signing in as a guest. 

A faculty member was overheard telling non-TNS visitors to inform security that they would be joining the Finklestein event, and invited them to join the encampment once inside the building. Multiple visitors showed New York University identification to enter the building.

Members of SJP, JCC, Faculty for Justice in Palestine and other members of TNS attended the event as well as students from NYU, Fordham University, and other members of the public. Amin Husain, a Palestinian-American activist and NYU professor, who hosted a teach-in on April 21 at the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, was also witnessed entering the auditorium. 

A campus  security officer said that the Campus Security team was concerned about members of the public joining the Gaza Solidarity Encampment but had no plan at all for how to address it and plan to play it by ear.

The discussion with Finkelstein and Farman was originally scheduled to take place at the University Center but a member of SJP told the New School Free Press that university officials authorized the event to be relocated to Johnson / Kaplan Hall on 12th Street, and informed the students of the change. SJP members named Shondrika Merrit, Associate Provost For Student Affairs and Dean Of Students, and Andrade “Dre” Fearon, Director of Student Leadership and Involvement as the officials they interacted with.

According to an Instagram post made by SJP, the change was made shortly before an Intro to Visual Culture class was scheduled to start at the Johnson / Kaplan Hall, “with utter disregard for the faculty and 150 students in that class.” A poster on the door of the Hall, signed by the Provost’s office, stated that the class was relocated to meet on Zoom, instead of meeting in person.

Ultimately, the event took place at its original location. The University did not make any public statements on its relocation. 

Finkelstein stated that although he was not in the loop about the room change, he deeply admired the work of the students who organized the event. “Just for the sake of your own future, not just for the future of Gaza, you gotta organize,” he said.