New School Occupied by Hundreds of Protesting Students

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Update:

I'm learning now from the (undated) updates of the site that the studnets have ended the occupation (on the 3rd day) and have attained "major victories" in terms of concessions from the school administration.

"After more than two weeks of concerted actions on campus, students in the occupation were finally able to win significant victories in the ongoing struggle to improve the New School. Those victories include: an agreement not to press charges or impose academic punishments for students involved in the protest, the implementation of a Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) committee within the university, more autonomy and power for Student Senate to communicate with the student body, more representation on the Board of Trustees for students and faculty, and finally the creation of more student study space on campus. As of approximately 4am this morning New School and other students have left the 65 5th Avenue building and declared the occupation successful, ending this stage of the action."

I am a tiny bit delayed going through posts from the nettime mailing list. Apparently hundreds of students have been occupying the New School for Social Research in New York City, a major city university. They have been there since Wednesday, December 17th and are in the Graduate Faculty building. Does anyone have any further information about this?

Here is their release:

"We have just occupied New School University.

We liberate this space for ourselves, and all those who want to join us,
for our general autonomous use. We take the university in explicit
solidarity with those occupying the universities and streets in Greece,
Italy, France and Spain.

This occupation begins as a response to specific conditions at the New
School, the corporatization of the university and the impoverishment of
education in general. However, it is not just this university but also
New York City that is in crisis: in the next several months, thousands
of us will be losing our jobs, while housing remains unaffordable and
unavailable to many and the cost of living skyrockets.

So we stress that the general nature of these intolerable conditions
exists across the spectrum of capitalist existence, in our universities
and our cities, in all of our social relations.  For this reason, what
begins tonight at the New School cannot, and should not, be contained here.

Thus: with this occupation, we inaugurate a sequence of revolt in New
York City and the United States, a coming wave of occupations,
blockades, and strikes in this time of crisis.

Be assured, this is only the beginning,

With solidarity and love from New York to Greece,
To Italy, France and Spain,
To the coming insurrection.

- New School Occupation Committee

http://www.newschoolinexile.com/"