22 Arrested in New School Protest, Cops End 2nd Rally
Arrests made after several hours
Saturday, Apr 11, 2009 | Updated 9:06 AM EST
WNBC
Officers were all over the place at the New School Friday, not necessarily signing up for classes.
Protesters calling for the resignation of New School University president Bob Kerrey broke into a campus building and occupied it for about five hours Friday before police arrested 22 people.
Police arrested two more protesters after a second rally at 10 p.m. on Friday that ended when police stopped a march to Kerry's house. Police say two protesters were arrested on charges of criminal mischief.
Earlier, protesters locked themselves into the Greenwich Village building around 6 a.m. The standoff ended after about five hours.
Police were summoned by school officials. They said Internet claims that tear gas and mace were used were false. The officers arrived on foot, on horseback and by helicopter.
Once they arrived, they broke through locks and sealed the main entrance. Then they confronted students barricaded upstairs who, according to one commander, surrendered immediately.
The protesters said the building houses a cafeteria but classes are not held there.
The protesting students' main demand was the resignation of University President Bob Kerrey, which a spokeswoman said is not going to happen.
The school issued a release after the drama ended.
"This morning's illegal occupation of 65 Fifth Avenue was joined by a number of New School in Exile students as well as individuals without any affiliation to The New School," the statement read. "Their claim that this was a simple political protest is false. Their entry into this building was forced, they removed a man who was cleaning the building, took his phone, injured a security officer, and did physical damage to the building.
"Accordingly, in this case the university asked the New York Police Department to remove and arrest those who were trespassing on our property. We suspended, pending administrative review, all New School students who were a part of this action.
Freelance journalist Brandon Jourdan, of Brooklyn, shared a video clip he shot of Friday's confrontation.
WARNING: profane language is included in the video clip below. This language could be offensive to members of the viewing audience.
