NYU Law administration told students at a pro-Palestinian sit-in on Tuesday that they “may be subject to disciplinary action” after refusing to relocate the demonstration from the law school library. When the students refused to comply, administrators began photographing their student IDs.
Over 50 law students participated in the sit-in to protest Israel’s ongoing bombardment and military siege of the Gaza Strip, according to a Wednesday post on the NYU Law Students for Justice in Palestine Instagram account. In the post, participants wore keffiyehs and displayed signs on computers reading “NO SCHOOL AS USUAL DURING GENOCIDE” and “ALL EYES ON NORTH GAZA.” LSJP said that the group was “immediately confronted” by administrators and Campus Safety officers, who “could not explain” any policy violations to the students.
The School of Law’s Public Affairs Director, Michael Orey, told WSN that photographing students’ IDs is standard procedure when conduct rules are violated to ensure accurate information is recorded. Orey said that students “failed to respond to repeated requests” by administrators and officers to relocate their protest to a different area, reminding them that their actions were in direct violation of conduct policies.
The NYU Law Library follows conduct rules detailed in the university’s Guidance and Expectations on Student Conduct — which states that sit-ins are allowed if they do not disrupt normal university operations or violate policies. The law school’s policy states that the “holding or placement” of signs is also not permitted in the building. If an on-campus demonstration escalates to a level that raises safety concerns or violates policies, a Campus Safety officer can intervene, express their concerns about observed violations or request to see participants’ NYU IDs, according to the guidelines.
“NYU Law respects the right of its students to engage in peaceful protest, provided it takes place in a manner that does not interfere with our primary educational mission,” Orey said. “We do not permit protest activity in designated academic areas, which include the Law Library and our classroom spaces.”
LSJP also claimed in its post that the law school “funds this genocide and invests in death” while presenting itself as a leader in “global justice.” The group demands that NYU Law disclose its investments and divest from Israel — a demand the university has stated it is not considering.
In May, hundreds of law school affiliates signed a letter revoking their consent for the university to use their names, images and work in promotional materials until it meets the requests of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus. In December, NYU’s graduate student union accused the university of canceling “several” pro-Palestinian events, including one organized by LSJP, alleging that it was done “under the guise of ‘security.’”
“The administration’s attempts at intimidation and incoherent disciplinary procedures highlights how the school will go to any length to silence pro-Palestinian speech on campus,” the LSJP Instagram post reads. “As the genocide in Gaza continues to escalate and we continue to bear witness, we will continue to both speak about the genocide on campus and put pressure on our school to end its complicity in genocide.”
Contact Adrianna Nehme at [email protected].
