FIT protesters surprised by NYPD's crackdown on their pro-Palestinian encampment
The NYPD cleared out pro-Palestinian protesters from an encampment at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology on Tuesday night, shocking demonstrators who previously believed the college was taking a hands-off approach to their activism on campus.
The students said they wanted FIT to disclose its investments tied to Israel and disinvest from the country, and for the school to issue a statement about the conflict in Gaza. And while they said their negotiations with the administration had reached a stalemate, they believed FIT officials were keen to avoid a“They do not want to send in the police, they do not want to make any arrests,” said Jeremy Noone, an FIT junior and student organizer.
“I tried very hard to allow students and other members of our community on both sides of this issue, to peacefully protest and make their feelings known,” she said. “However, in the end, for some there was no room for dialogue or coexistence.” FIT students said the encampment had moved to three locations around the campus over the previous 13 days. Protesters pitched tents and hung signs with messages including “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.” Two student organizers at the encampment on Tuesday morning said several classmates had participated in theThe FIT protests appeared to be peaceful. Students ate donated meals and said they regularly left the encampment to attend class before returning to the tents.
Zool Zulkowitz, 68, a member of the local community board who lives near FIT's campus, sat with students in the encampment on Tuesday. “I’m here in support of the students as an anti-Zionist Jew,” he said.
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