In the aftermath of Cooper Union's decision to start charging graduate students tuition, a protest of sorts broke out late this afternoon outside the school. As DNAinfo reported, "a one-man protest against Cooper Union's decision ... turned into a hour-long standoff with cops when the dissenter scaled the Peter Cooper statue."
DNAinfo ID'd the man as Jesse Kreuzer, a recent graduate of Cooper Union, who, at one point, reportedly moonwalked atop the statue. In total, he was up there for an hour and 40 minutes, according to the Daily News.
Per DP in EV who took the photo: "It started as usual and ended with 50 cops and a cherry picker to arrest the [man] on top of the Peter Cooper memorial."
In addition, some students walked out of class today at noon, per the GalleristNY.
Also, from a Cooper Union student via email: "Additionally, a female student was arrested for — no one is really sure. The police were trying to lock our school down so no one could go in or out, and in the ruckus of pushing everyone toward the building, suddenly like 4 cops tackled her and she was taken away in a squad car."
According to the Daily News:
"Cops also arrested Sara Abruna, 23, of Brooklyn, who tried to duck under a taped-off area. She was charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration."
21 comments:
So grad students have to pay tuition? Sounds pretty horribe to make people from upper middle class families who are pushing 30 years old have to pay towards their education.
Don't the cops have more pressing things to deal with? 50 cops for one clown with a placard?
It's the principle of the thing; I still have a button from my first year [circa 1980] that says, "We may come here for free, but we don't come here for nothing!"
I agree with Uncle Waltie..the OWS people are quiet and polite and have plackards here in the EV..one said "Am too ugly to sell my ass"..funny and true. I love their sentiments..alot like some of mine. Applaud you guys..you don't stand atop a statue and dance..we crawl through the streets..thete is no one way highway..meditate on this.
I find this absolutely despicable.
FIFTY COPS for one guy MOONWALKING?
Welcome to the New World Order.
If there was ever a time to protest against the outrageous misappropriation of city resources to effect a constant show of BRUTE force and social programming to not challenge the system.. It's now.
We are on the cusp of living in a police state - this is how it starts people. Wake up, or kiss your civil liberties goodbye.
This makes a mockery of the protest. I am surprised at you, Grieve. There were groups of students protesting all day long, with signs and I could hear the chanting from my window throughout the day. It was not just one person.
I walked over at one point to see what was going on. The police had closed the park so the protesters had to stand outside it. There were perhaps 50 students protesting at the time I checked, but I counted 10 police cars and one large police van.
- East Villager
Not all graduate students are upper middle class.
@ East Villager
Wasn't my intention.
And I changed it to a more straightforward headline. The original one was more playful, which is how a witness at the scene described the situation to me.
Yeah and if the a..hole would have fallen down from a top the statue then u same morons would have been complaining where were the police. You guys are really unbelievable! Let the idiot go to jail and give the attention hor his minute of fame. Ridiculous already!
The cops should've showed them the memorizing video of the Death Star's windows opening. That would have calmed them!
I knew somebody would pipe up asking "why shouldn't those privileged/elitist/uppermiddleclass/intellectual/eggheads have to pay for their education?" Well, maybe if all education *were* free, then it wouldn't only be privileged/elitist/uppermiddleclass/intellectual/eggheads receiving it! D'oh!
The NYPD should ignore these idiots who climb statues and light poles. If he falls and gets hurt,who cares. After all he is apparently intelligent enough to attend college and vote. Unfortunately, If he does fall and break his neck, it will be everyone elses fault(The City, Cooper Union, NYPD)but his own. I'm tired of these idiots and their "Look at Me" mentality.
What glamma said.
And where are these cops on Friday and Saturday nights when they are actually needed?
Thank you for changing the headline and tone....I understand that it can all be seen humorously, but to laugh too much at the protesters is to disempower them further...protest can be a lonely business, and not many have the courage to face a line of police.
This was a peaceful protest, as far as I could tell, with a legitimate concern, and the overwhelming presence of police force was indeed excessive and not encouraging regarding the future of free expression.
Best regards,
- East Villager
"And where are these cops on Friday and Saturday nights when they are actually needed?"
Good point. I rarely venture out on Saturday nights unless necessary, but last weekend was returning from Brooklyn around 4am and walking from the subway. What a nightmare. The streets were predictably trashed from the overturned garbage cans, drunks were everywhere, and two fights were breaking out within the two blocks I walked. Outside the 24-hour bad-pizza joint on St Mark's, two groups of people were also cursing and throwing food, drinks, and street trash at each other. Charming.
Anyway, somewhat off-topic, but as a contrast in police presence, it is notable. I saw absolute zero police in that two block stretch, despite the unruly drunk crowds. Meanwhile a small peaceful protest has more police than protesters.
- East Villager
Peter Cooper must be rolling over in his grave. I bet that he would rather have the place shut down than to charge students. It's a shame when you can't count on the people (who have a job thanks to your idea) to carry out your wishes after your dead.
The man set up the school to run a certain way after he was gone, so if you can't honor his wishes, then you don't deserve to work there now. Talk about principle - step down and let someone run the place who can follow Cooper's wishes, or close the doors and let Peter keep is honor and respect.
I witnessed almost the entire escapade apart from seeing how the guy got to the top of the monument. There were over 60 cops on the scene in addition to many squad cars, unmarked cars, multiple emergency unit vehicles including one with an inflatable dingy!? There were also many members of the "Hostage Negoiation team" and a guy from some other special unit video taping everything and lots of "suits" and not so undercover cops. It took almost two hours for the cherry picker to show up while all the cops stood around and checked their smart phones and glared at the "gawkers". Almost all the "gawkers" were amused that one guy could ruffle the PD so much. The crowd of onlookers were also infuriated by such a show of force by the PD, which was unnecessary and obvious muscle flexing. When one cop was asked why they didn't just ask the fire department to help them he scowled and another special unit guy said, " We are just waiting for him to come down on his own; they always do... The very slight young woman who was arrested was "subdued" by at least 3 cops, thrown on the pavement and treated so roughly that her laptop landed far from her and one cop had to retrieve it and then tossed it into the squad car with the young woman.
Bowery Boy--you might want to check your facts. There was tuition charged when Peter Cooper first opened.
and it is still pretty great to get excellent 4 year undergrad free. -
Here is link to Sarah Abruna's arrest. She wasn't trying to duck under any tape, as there wasn't any up. It just looks like they pulled her out of the crowd and threw her to the ground
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_RFmlpyRWc
From Wikipedia: Peter Cooper's dream was to give talented young people the one privilege he lacked: a good education. He also wished to make possible the development of talent that otherwise would have gone undiscovered. To achieve these lofty goals, Cooper designated the majority of his wealth, primarily in the form of real estate holdings, to the creation and funding of The Cooper Union, a zero-tuition school with courses made freely available to any applicant. Discrimination based on race, religion, or sex was expressly prohibited.
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