Apparently, a group of Jewish students had to hide behind locked doors in the Cooper Union library from pro-Palestinian demonstrators who banged on the locked doors, and on the glass wall to the library. And the school administration has done nothing in response.
Can you imagine if White supremacist demonstrators had chased a group of Black students into the library, necessitating that the Black students be locked in for their own safety, and then the White supremacists banged on the doors and the glass wall as part of their “demonstration”? Can you imagine that campuses wouldn’t expel the students who had done this? And yet, not one word from Cooper Union about how they’re going to handle the students who did this, because after all, this is different…
I agree that that is absolutely terrible, and unacceptable. And I expect there to be significant consequences, including expulsion, for the students who were harassing & intimidating the Jewish students.
But, this incident only occurred yesterday. The school is working on gathering the information and evidence so they will be able to take actions that can be upheld legally. I don’t think it’s unreasonable that nothing concrete has happened yet.
I thought I had read a statement from the University. But when I went to look, it turned out the statement I had read earlier today was about a different incident from a different school recently (the GW incident).
Seems the college at some point decided to separate the counter-protestors from the protestors. Police had been on scene the entire time, as this had been a planned demonstration.
If reports from last night are correct, police didn’t have to interfere; there was no damage to property, nor any physical altercation.
It might be relevant that this was not some band of protestors chasing down arbitrary students because they were a certain race or religion - but was reported as being two groups of demonstrators, both having chosen to engage.
Nevertheless, banging against a door and glass, serves no other purpose than intimidation, which I don’t agree with.
Once again, had it been a group of White Supremacist demonstrators chasing a group of Black counter-demonstrators into the library, and then banging on the locked door and the glass wall, do you think that the university wouldn’t have made a statement immediately that this behavior was unacceptable and disciplined and probably expelled the students responsible? I don’t understand why campus police didn’t detain the students who were banging on the locked door and the glass wall. Well, I’m sure there’s security footage - and it’s pretty obvious who the perpetrators were, banging on the glass wall. But somehow, I doubt that Cooper Union will do anything.
Detained them for what reason/charge? I’m in NO WAY defending what was done by them but if police are going to detain someone there needs to have been a law broken. This was a protest/counter-protest. Unless something got to the point of assault or destruction of property I’m not sure what law would have been broken? 100% not versed on NYC laws though either.
from what I’ve read online, it appears that the Jewish group fled into the library on the first floor, the doors were locked, and the much larger pro-Palestinian group entered the building after them, went up to the top floor, went down to the bottom floor and tried to enter the library, then banged on doors and the glass wall for what seems to have been 20 minutes, police were called, they then left. But it’s difficult to piece together, from different reports on different sites.
I guess it all depends how some media outlets choose to characterize events. I hadn’t seen that - in particular not from either NYPD nor the college itself!
Here the two accounts I knew about:
The protesters went upstairs, and the Jewish students — who had been counter-protesting outside — went into the library on the lobby level, the student said.
The students say they were studying in the library after attending an earlier rally in Cooper Plaza.
…
The NYPD says three community affairs officers were at the school for the planned demonstration. A spokesperson says about 20 students demonstrated outside the president’s office, who said she did not feel in danger, before they made their way towards the library.
Not sure what infraction would cover banging on walls in protest. Maybe disturbing the peace but it was a private not public space. The school might have a rule about interfering with library operations. The students inside had an available peaceful exit.
The lack of respect these “protestors” have is not surprising. Sadly- society has celebrated this type of behavior in recent years. They don’t expect there to be repercussions- because rarely these days there are. Let’s hope the universities come out strong on condemning this behavior. But sadly I’m not holding my breath……
And here the official college account, with added details:
On Wednesday, there was a planned student walk-out outside of the Foundation Building, part of a larger effort across New York City and nationally. Students convened in front of the Foundation Building at 1 p.m.; it was a peaceful protest. …
At approximately 2 p.m., during the protest, a fire alarm on the 5th floor of the Foundation Building went off indicating there was smoke present. We evacuated the building, and FDNY arrived on site. FDNY confirmed there was no evidence of smoke, and people were allowed to return to the building. We are investigating the circumstances around the fire alarm.
After we were able to return to the building, the protest moved inside the building around 3:45 p.m. To maintain a safe space, the library was closed for approximately 20 minutes while some student protestors moved through the building, some chanting protest slogans and banging on the library doors and windows. Some students, not at all involved in the protest who were in the library, and some who entered during the protest remained there during this time. They were accompanied by library staff and chose to stay in the library until the protest was over. All students, including those who participated in the protest, dispersed by 5:30 p.m.
At Cooper Union, all students are subject to a Code of Conduct that defines expectations, rights, and responsibilities. We take the Code of Conduct very seriously. Students are expected to abide by it, and we will continue to enforce it. In the coming days we will review reports and footage from today’s events and initiate any necessary actions consistent with our policies. We remind our community that student records, including disciplinary actions and proceedings, are confidential.
I am not a criminal lawyer, but I do wonder after looking at the facts if these kids could potentially be charged with assault. Because assault encompasses the threat of physical harm. The kids are banging on the doors and glass wall, one wonders what they intended by doing so? And what would’ve happened to the kids inside if the doors or wall had been breached.
The students in the library were encouraged to exit by the police. Some did. Some chose not to do so. The police officers’ testimony that there were no threats, damage or danger will be important. Private citizens do not pursue criminal charges; only the government can do so, and in view of the statements so far, that appears highly unlikely to occur.
I agree the facts still need to be sort out. Lawsuits will provide discovery so that can happen. However, just because an exit was available doesn’t mean those students believed they’d be safer outside the library than inside it. Peaceful protest is one thing. Screaming at people while banging on a glass wall is not.
The students can file a police report against the protestors and then the police and prosecutors can decide what to do from there. I hope they do it. The behavior of the protestors should have consequences.
The police offered an escort through the back exit. It was safe.
The strongest case would be seeking university sanctions for interfering with library operations. It is an objective standard and would require no testimony other than the librarian’s. Seems solid, and far clearer. No sure having conflict student testimony about what happened between the students would be in anyone’s interest or improve the campus atmosphere.
Interfering with library operations can result in suspension or expulsion.
It may not improve the atmosphere but clearly it’s not good as is. If there are no repercussions for poor behavior it will keep occurring. There are videos of the protestors yelling and banging on the glass. That alone is violent behavior that should be addressed.
