Protesters ‘interfered with safe passage into and out of core academic building’ university spokesman said
Two New York University professors were recently arrested and suspended over a protest calling for the school to divest from Israeli-linked companies.
The professors were reportedly supervising a sit-in protest that blocked entry to the school’s library when they were arrested late last week.
The American Association of University Professors said the protest was peaceful, while a university spokesman told The College Fix it was not.
“Last Thursday morning, a group of individuals began protesting in front of NYU’s main library. At about noon, those protesters sought to block all the entryways into and out of the building, ignoring the clear direction of NYU Campus Safety Officers and repeated attempts by University personnel to de-escalate the situation,” NYU spokesman John Beckman told The Fix in an email statement.
He said that “entry into the library was temporarily stopped” and “police came to the scene…to restore clear and free access to the building, and to help maintain order.”
Beckman told The Fix that “eight arrests were made,” but he did not provide details on the identities of those arrested.
“The University rejects any claims that this is peaceful protest: the people involved were intentionally targeting members of our community; their harassing behavior disrupted our academic operations at a particularly critical moment in the semester (as finals start), ignored the rights of students who wish to study in the library, and interfered with safe passage into and out of a core academic building,” Beckman stated.
Both arrested faculty members are reportedly on the executive board of the American Association of University Professors, which released a statement condemning their arrests.
“This crackdown on NYU faculty is part of a distressing pattern of repression of pro-Palestinian speech on college campuses,” AAUP President Todd Wolfson stated.
“The AAUP condemns this practice and we will fight to defend academic freedom and the right of faculty, students, and staff to peacefully assemble on campuses across the country,” he stated.
The statement argues the scholars were essentially suspended.
“Declaring faculty members as persona non grata appears tantamount to a summary suspension. This status, which is akin to banishment from campus, deactivates faculty ID cards and makes them unable to enter any NYU buildings—including those that contain their offices, laboratories, and classrooms—and essentially deprives faculty members of their right to perform their primary responsibilities as teachers and researchers,” according to AAUP.
A video posted on X shows one of the professors being arrested by police officers while he yells “free Palestine”:
Meet NYU Sociology Prof. Andrew Ross.
Ross was arrested this week for blocking access to an NYU library to protest for Gaza.
Ross has for years been a radical anti-Israel activist and openly calls for the eradication of the State of Israel.
This is who is teaching your kids. pic.twitter.com/Ig0iPU8ilL
— Shelley G (@ShelleyGldschmt) December 14, 2024
The College Fix contacted the two professors who were allegedly arrested for clarification on the events leading to their arrest, and both had an automated response stating, “Due to constraints imposed on me by NYU because of my opposition to its continued complicity with genocide, I am unable to perform university business as usual.”
MORE: NYU facing accreditor complaint: ‘Orwellian’ censorship
IMAGE: ShelleyGldschmt/Twitter
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