Last night at 10 pm, NYU students barricaded themselves into a cafeteria in the student center and refused to leave until the administration met their demands. The students are seeking much more transparency, stabilized tuition and socially responsible investment among other things (details at takebacknyu.com). Although NYPD took up positions inside and outside the building, the NYU administration up until now declined to force the students to leave.
Today, a couple of dozen more students rushed into join their comrades in the cafeteria, bolstering their numbers and morale. An hour later the students broke through some doors onto a balcony to take over more space. Previously, the students had taken a formal stance against violence and against property destruction. Apparently they changed their minds when they decided to enter the balcony, writing on their website, "in the interest of tactical flexibility, we have chosen to revoke the property destruction clause of this statement."
In a remarkable use of social media, you can follow along with events from inside the student occupation at a live blog and on live streaming video.
I-Witness Video was on the scene last night and will continue to monitor events periodically.
- Eileen Clancy
I-Witness Video
NYU student occupation links
Occupation organizers site with demands and updates: takebacknyu.com
Live blog from student journalist:
http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/02/19/day-2-nyu-students-occupation-of-kimmel
2 live video streams:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/take-back-nyu
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/take-back-nyu-2
