On Wednesday, May 8th, faculty members at New School in Manhattan erected a solidarity encampment, marking the first staff-led anti-Israel protest in the United States. The encampment, situated at the college’s University Center, consists of approximately a dozen tents. Faculty members have aligned themselves with their students’ demands for the school to divest from 13 companies allegedly supporting Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The protesters have also called for the removal of NYPD presence on campus and the dismissal of disciplinary charges against students. A representative organizing the encampment stated, “The movement started by our brave students must continue, and it is incumbent upon us as faculty to heed their calls and help finish what they started.”
The encampment has been named the Refaat Alareer Faculty Solidarity Encampment in honor of a writer and professor killed in an Israeli airstrike in December. Previously, over 40 students from the university were arrested by the NYPD during the clearance of their anti-Israel encampment, as reported by the New School Free Press.
The New School Free Press reported that “The 45 student demonstrators arrested at The New School’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment and released from One Police Plaza last Friday have been charged with criminal trespassing in the third degree,” adding that 37 New School students were also issued interim suspensions. The outlet further noted that “For international students, while interim suspensions will not immediately impact their visa status, criminal charges and the outcome of student conduct investigations, if pursued by the university, could pose a threat to their student visas.”
An unarmed faculty member expressed concerns, saying, “From the brazen lies spouted by administration in the face of violent NYPD repression to the suspension of students and tactics used to prevent students from accessing their essential needs after arrests, it is clear the President, Board members and Administration have no interest in protecting students or listening to their demands, only in protecting themselves and their own profits.”
The Students for Justice in Palestine released a statement criticizing University Interim President Donna Shalala for “asserting a false and misleading narrative to justify the deployment of NYPD riot police against her students as they slept.” They have called for a “general strike” to halt school operations. The strike demands the cessation of all labor, both paid and unpaid, by students, faculty, and staff at the New School. The organization has requested that faculty members refrain from submitting final grades. Additionally, the protesting faculty members have demanded that universities and municipalities nationwide drop charges against all arrested student protesters.
“This is the first faculty-led encampment in the US,” they declared. “We hope it will not be the last. We thank our students for showing us the way; for being our teachers.”
