Today at 12:00 p.m., the National Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine will hold a march starting at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) on 27th Street and Eighth Avenue and ending at The New School campus. Along the way, they will stop at institutions such as the School of Visual Arts and New York University. Anyone is allowed to participate in the march. 

The New School issued a school-wide email yesterday afternoon in anticipation of the march,  stating the changes in campus security to be made today.

The email stated, “To ensure the safety of our community, the following procedures will be in place tomorrow between 2:30pm – 8:00pm at the University Center, 66 Fifth Avenue, 2 West 13th Street, and 72 Fifth Avenue.”  New School security will be required to check IDs of anyone entering the building and also people “will be required to show their face to match their ID photo.” 

Although the email explains that these checks are mandatory, there is no mention of religious exemption. 

During these heightened security hours, no guests will be allowed entry to any of the buildings mentioned above including New School alumni. Any guests of faculty must be approved by New School security before entry. 

The university cited its “codes, policies and protocols” in the message, claiming to support the community’s right to freedom of speech. The message continued, saying the university “do not permit harassment, intimidation, or hate speech; conduct that interferes unreasonably with the activities of other persons; or disruptions to teaching, learning, and other university operations.”

The university concluded the email by pledging its top priority to be “maintaining a safe, civil, and respectful campus environment for all members of our community.”