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NYU Protesters End Occupation
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 20, 2009
Modified Feb 20, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 20, 2009
Modified Feb 20, 2009
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After less than 48 hours, the "Take Back NYU" student occupation of a cafeteria at the university's Kimmel Center has ended. Most of the dozen or so remaining protesters vacated the premises earlier this afternoon after NYU administrators threatened them with suspension. A university spokesman said in a statement that "any non-NYU students will be turned over to the police for arrest as trespassers; we will notify their schools of the participation in improper activity."
Four remained on the cafeteria balcony until about 2 p.m., vowing that security would have to forcibly eject them. Washington Square News now reports that those last four have since departed. According to NYU Local, Farah Khimji, one of the leaders of the protest, left the building around 12:40 p.m. and talked to the press alongside Councilman Charles Barron. Khimji is accusing the security guards of pushing her to the ground and physically subduing her: "This is absurd. It’s an outrage. You don’t put a hand on any of the students in the building."
The NYU spokesman counters that protesters injured an NYU security officer during a tussle last night; administrators are also upset with students for breaking the lock on the balcony door. But the situation really got desperate last night when the school cut off the building's Internet and, later, access to electrical outlets. The group is still Twittering, however, and they say at least ten students have been suspended. It's not clear what demands, if any, were met, but it seems that many of the occupiers at least managed to achieve goal #1: Full legal and disciplinary amnesty. Viva la Self-Preservation!
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kimmel building
NYU
Occupation
protest
Student
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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