Update on Today’s Demonstration
A Message from Joel Towers, President and University Professor
Yesterday we let the university community know that a demonstration including several colleges across lower Manhattan was anticipated to take place today. The march was expected to culminate at The New School, and it did. Our approach, in response, sought to respect the demonstration while keeping it, and the police presence it was expected to draw, separate from the university. For the most part this was successful, and the university remained open.
However, the day was not free of incident. A New School student was arrested at the entrance of the university building located at 65 W 11th Street after an exchange with a New York Police Department officer. I arrived there after the arrest, and despite efforts to deescalate the situation, I was unable to prevent the student from being taken to the precinct. The student has since been released, and we are working to support them.
Our hope was that today would be peaceful. And as I said, it was largely so. Unfortunately, the arrest of a student is anything but that. I am committed to continuing to try to find ways for our community to engage with the urgent issues of the world around us without resulting in arrest or an unsafe environment. As President, I pledge to work with you to confront these challenges and find ways to solve them together.