News

An Exclusive Occupation: Enmity at 90 Fifth Ave. and the Devolution of a Student Movement
Kimberly Lightbody
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
When the occupation ended in the early hours of November 25, it left behind a tangible feeling of tension and uncertainty. The ideological disagreements that began at 90 Fifth Ave. had spread beyond the occupation, creating deep divisions throughout The New School’s intellectual community. And as students, faculty and administrators examined the dynamic of the occupation, and the events that had taken place, many worried that its divisiveness would haunt social activism at The New School and cripple any future attempts to bring the values of OWS to the university.
The Unconscionable Cost of Education
Daisy Geoffrey
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
An examination of the financial state of higher education does not reveal a malevolent plot by rapacious trustees swimming in cash — there is no particular person or institution to blame. Nor is there one singular reason for the exorbitant cost of tuition. But there is widespread frustration with a system that lacks regulation and has no prospect of changing as long as students continue to pay up. In classic American fashion, institutes for higher education are in a race to be the best, and students who want to achieve economic prosperity are willing to take on debt and decades of ramen noodles in hopes of eventually getting the career that will provide them with such success.
higher education conference
CUNY Chancellor Booed, Criticized at Higher Education Conference
Danielle Balbi
Monday, December 12th, 2011
At "The Future of Higher Education" conference’s keynote panel discussion on Thursday evening, President David Van Zandt was barely able to get through his introduction of City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, his voice overpowered by the loud coughs and frequent boos of those in attendance.
CUNY Students Rally Against Board of Trustees Tuition Vote
Stephany Chung
Danielle Balbi
“This pretty much will destroy the mission of this great university which is to give everyone a chance, an opportunity, for a first rate college education,” stated Bill Craine, 67, a professor of Psychology at City College New York for 41 years.
Occupiers Divided as Van Zandt Struggles to Vacate 90 Fifth Ave
Kimberly Lightbody
A day after President David Van Zandt officially asked the occupiers of 90 Fifth Avenue to vacate the building, a number of them still refused to leave, despite the administration’s last-ditch efforts to end the occupation. A General Assembly voted Tuesday night to accept an offer from Van Zandt and move to a different location at The New School, but those who were outvoted have apparently broken away from the rest of the occupation and reiterated their determination to stay in the Student Study Center that they have occupied for a week now.
Student Week of Action Ends with Arrests at Baruch
Harrison Golden
Danielle Balbi
Stephany Chung
Protesters marched their way down to 90 Fifth Ave., the site of The New School Study Center, where students from the New York City General Assembly have been conducting a citywide occupation since Thursday, holding teach-ins and meetings with little to no police interference. While many were unable to get into the building due to fears of overcrowding, roughly one hundred CUNY students were given permission to enter the building, thereby capping the week of demonstrations.
Reporters React: Chris Hooks on the Failed Occupation in SoHo
Chris Hooks
Returning, I watched as the protesters wandered around the old school. Still unclear as to why the protestors had chosen this location, I asked Race, a student who had travelled from Utah to take part in OWS, why the group hadn’t decided to occupy a school building. “I thought we were going to a school, too,” he said. “I know about as much as you do. I’m just along for the ride.”
Occupy Lambeau: A Football Fan’s Pilgrimage to the Packer Promised Land
Cal Stamp
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
It's Sunday, November 20. My cohorts Steve and Will and I arrive in Green Bay at around 9:30 in the morning after a 17-hour drive that took us through endless cornfields and past dilapidated post-industrial cities like Gary, Indiana. It's cold and grey outside, but a palpable feeling of anticipation hovers in the chilly Wisconsin air. We cruise down Lombardi Avenue, named for the legendary Packer coach of the 1960s, taking in the city on game day. Packer paraphernalia is everywhere. This town bleeds green and gold.
Day of Action
The Glorious Rise and Ignominious Fall of a Student Occupation
Rey Mashayekhi
Kimberly Lightbody
Miles Kohrman
News Essay from Across the Pond: Occupy Wall Street in the UK
Emma Mahony
As someone who has visited the Occupy London camp half a dozen times, I have witnessed the camp evolve from a gaggle of tents with bits of paper taped onto railings, and defensive, unhappy campers staring back at the public like animals in a zoo, to a hopeful, organized area of protest with information tents, a book store, and video screenings. Contrary to the media stereotype of protesters having “vague” ideas, their statement speaks common sense to most, and includes the following: “We refuse to pay for the banks’ crisis. We do not accept the cuts. We need alternatives towards the current system. We stand together with occupations all over the world. We want regulators to be genuinely independent of the industries they regulate. We want structural change towards authentic global equality. The world’s resources must go towards caring for people and the planet, not the military, corporate profits of the rich”.
Water Collective
Parsons Grad’s Non-Profit Looks to Solve Global Water Crisis
Ada Akad
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
While working on her senior thesis last spring, Parsons graduate Sophia Sunwoo sought community solutions for global environmental conditions. Now, with Water Collective, the newly developed organization she started this semester, her goals are beginning to take notice.
As More Students Express Anger at Occupiers, Van Zandt Tries to Resolve Occupation
Kimberly Lightbody
The mood was tense in Kellen Auditorium today when President David Van Zandt and Provost Tim Marshall held an open forum for members of the university community to discuss the ongoing occupation of the Student Study Center in 90 Fifth Ave. Speaking one by one, a large number of students expressed anger about the vandalism done to the occupied space and complained about the loss of a valued student center, while many faculty members urged Van Zandt not to bring in the police or forcibly remove the occupiers.
Other Stories: 
Reporters React: Brianna Lyle on Getting Kicked Out by the Occupiers
Brianna Lyle
When I walked into work yesterday afternoon at The Office of Student Development and Activities, everyone was saying the same thing: “The protesters might be coming.” Earlier that day, my boss had received an email saying that, if the protesters came to our building, we should leave the office and let them do their thing. But I didn’t think they would come — after all, it would be silly to occupy 90 Fifth Avenue, a building that the New School doesn’t even own. At around 3:45, though, sitting at my desk, I felt a rumble. It was followed by angry voices and pounding. As I walked down the escalator, I saw a few students trickle by the security guards.
Coverage of CUNY Grad Center General Assembly
Harrison Golden
Protesters from the City University of New York Graduate Center held a General Assembly meeting Friday evening at their 35th Street campus building, in light of Thursday’s Global Day of Action and the ongoing All-City Student Occupation at the New School’s Student Study Center. At the meeting, CUNY students discussed how to move forward with their own protest and debated their relationship with other city universities, and the New School in particular. Students announced plans to hold a future GA meeting and teach-in at the occupied New School space, located at 90 Fifth Avenue, which has been occupied since Thursday afternoon with students from CUNY, NYU, the New School, Columbia, and Pratt. In addition, many encouraged students to visit the building, take part in its citywide GA meetings, and engage in discussions with students from other universities.
Reporters React: Rey Mashayekhi on the March to the Stock Exchange
Rey Mashayekhi
They didn’t take the stock exchange. Instead they took over nearly the whole financial district. I arrived at Zuccotti Park yesterday morning at 7 a.m., as the Occupy Wall Street protesters were preparing to march down to the New York Stock Exchange with the hopes of keeping it closed. Hours later, the protesters hadn’t physically shut it down — a rumor that the opening bell was delayed proved to be false. But that doesn’t mean they failed to get their message across: they lost Zuccotti Park, but they weren’t going away.
Day of Action #OccupyNewSchool
Courtney Stack
The Occupation of 90 Fifth Ave.: An Overview
Kimberly Lightbody
The New School found itself at the epicenter of the Occupy Wall Street movement for a fleeting moment yesterday, when more than a hundred students from colleges across New York City took over the Student Study Center at 90 Fifth Avenue, barricading the space and staying there overnight. The situation remains fluid and uncertain, but here at the New School Free Press we’ve been tracking the progress of the occupation, the third at the university in four years. Students from NYU, Columbia, Hunter, Pratt, and CUNY Grad joined New School students in the occupation yesterday, and while only a handful remained there this morning, a large group is expected to return later today for a General Assembly meeting.
hunter GA
Coverage of Hunter College's General Assembly
Andrea Vocos
The day after the citywide Day of Action in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, around 20 to 30 Hunter College students gathered for one of their ongoing OWS-style general assemblies to discuss Monday’s march from Madison Square Park to Baruch College. The meeting drew testy exchanges between organizers and attendees.