New School Students Take Over Grad Faculty Building

Viva la revolución! Since last night, a significant group of New School University students has occupied the Graduate Faculty building. A few have been arrested, but it seems the police and administration are allowing them to continue their peaceful protest, holding the building "as a student-run autonomous space". Read all about it at the New School in Exile blog. These are their demands:

• The removal of Bob Kerrey as president of our university.
• The removal of James Murtha as executive vice president of our university
• Students, faculty, and staff elect the president, EVP, and Provost.
• Students are part of the interim committee to hire a provost.
• The removal of Robert B. Millard as treasurer of the board of trustees.
• Intelligible transparency and disclosure of the university budget and investments.
• The creation of a committee on socially responsible investments.
• The immediate suspension of capital improvement projects like the tearing down of 65 fifth Ave.
• Instead, money towards the creation of an autonomous student space.
• Instead, money towards scholarships and reducing tuition.
• Instead, money for the library and student life generally.

The library connection? There's plenty:

Meanwhile, there is virtually no common study space - certainly not enough for over 9000 students. We have no library. Only 10% of the book collection is actually on the stacks at Fogelman library - everything we need is in storage, and the new library will not be built this year.

I was aware that New Schoolers would be without a library for about a month, but it sounds like the situation is far worse than that. I'll check into the full story and post more later this evening.