After Occupation Ends, Tensions Flare Again at New School University

This from the New York Times, photo by Yana Paskova.

More than 20 people occupied a building on the New School campus in Greenwich Village on Friday, demanding that the school’s embattled president, Bob Kerrey, be ousted. But unlike a similar protest in December that was peacefully negotiated to an end after 30 hours, Friday’s ordeal was concluded in a few hours after the school asked the police to remove the protesters.

Tensions flared again at 10 p.m. when about 200 protesters rallied in Union Square against Mr. Kerrey’s leadership of the school. The rally turned into an impromptu march south toward Mr. Kerrey’s house. The police blocked the protesters at about 11th Street and prevented the marchers from getting close to the house.

After being turned away, the marchers headed north and then east to Fifth Avenue...
By the end of the operation, 22 people were arrested, 19 of them on burglary, riot and criminal mischief charges. Two of the 19 were also charged with assault, and one with assault and grand larceny. The police had removed banners hung by the students at the building, at 65 Fifth Avenue, near Union Square...



While the protesters were being arrested, sympathizers on the street yelled at the police. A video shot on the street by a Brooklyn videographer appeared to show one officer pushing a man in the face and knocking him to the ground before he was arrested. A police spokesman, Paul J. Browne, would not characterize the officer’s actions, saying only, “He pushed him and he fell down.” ...

Mr. Kerrey’s leadership has come under attack in recent months, with some faculty members and students accusing him of being too secretive and failing to consult with them as he sought to shake up the school. Mr. Kerrey’s lack of a Ph.D. and early support of the Iraq war has also drawn criticism.

In December, shortly after Mr. Kerrey, a Vietnam war veteran and former Nebraska governor and senator, announced that he would also take on the role of provost after losing his fourth provost in seven years, professors gave him an overwhelming vote of no-confidence...