The New School Free Press is providing ongoing updates on the occupation of the cafeteria by the Communist Student Group. Check back for updates throughout the day.
Start from the bottom and scroll up for a chronological progression. Recent updates will be found at the top.
MAY 6
5:28 PM: People from Workers World Party arrive at the University Center, though most head inside. New School students sign them in as guests, of which they are allowed three. There are mixed reactions from occupiers to their presence.
4:48 PM: An occupier announces a rally in front of the University Center at 5:15 p.m., where people from the Workers World Party will be coming “to show solidarity.”
2:59 PM: A new poster reading, “Burn David Van Ant,” is hung.
2:29 PM: An annotated copy of one of the occupiers’ most frequently posted flyers (“ALERTA! ALERTA!”) is hung in one of the University Center’s elevators.
1:10 PM: Occupiers prepare lunch, which includes quesadillas and ham. A paper plate taped to the wall reminds people to wear gloves when handling food and to cover trays of food with plastic wrap.
12:47 PM: Day 6 has officially begun.
MAY 5
~11:30 PM: Former beverage and snack shelves have been converted to storage areas for the “Nap Zone.”
~11:30 PM: The kitchen’s hallway entrance has been wedged open with a roll of plastic bags.
10:32 PM: A new list of demands has been put out, and has been expanded from 6 to 8. New demands include the resignation of Executive Chef Brian DuHart and “full reimbursement for all worker’s salaries withheld due to the occupation.” Workers have said they’re “supposed to be” getting paid.
10:27 PM: : Some occupiers do yoga while others sweep and mop the floor as day 5 comes to a close.
6:15 PM: DSA people arrive. Entire rally with speakers can be found in the hyperlink.
6:08 PM: Ralliers tape posters to the outside of the University Center.
6:04 PM: Rally officially begins, as occupiers congregate with people from SENS-UAW outside the University Center.
5:42 PM: A rally scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. has not begun.
3:54 PM: Occupiers host a meeting regard what actions they should take moving forward. One says, “We can’t just continue like this.”
2:46 PM: CSG announces via Twitter a rally in front of the University Center at 5:30 p.m. SENS-UAW and DSA will be in attendance.
2:38 PM: A sheet is been hung for the film and red and yellow balloons are being blown up. Marx was born 200 years ago today.
12:56 PM: Posters have been put up announcing a Karl Marx birthday celebration at 3 p.m., where they will be screening Young Marx.
12:52 PM: The piñata hung last night now lies broken in the hallway, filled with fake money.
12:51 PM: Day 5 officially begins. Dinner preparations are being made and include barbecue chicken, which was a gift from an administrator, who occupiers declined to name.
May 4
11:05 PM: Some occupiers take boxes of napkins and plastic bags from a nearby supply closet as the security meeting comes to a close.
10:20 PM: A piñata with David Van Zandt’s head on it is hung in the hallway.
9:34 PM: A lawyer from the NYC-DSA Red Rabbits Marshal Team, which supports protesters during socialist demonstrations, leads a security meeting for occupiers. They discuss what actions are protected by the first amendment and what the process is after getting arrested in New York City.
Occupiers were also taught de-escalatory body language like keeping palms open and hands down, and practiced with a few simulation exercises.
8:59 PM: A new poster is hung on the cafeteria door facing the dining room that reads, “this occupation is anti-racist anti-sexist and has no tolerance for BS.”
7:31 PM: After dinner: “Can we possible get some men to help do dishes? Because it’s currently all women.”
6:01 PM: A poster “Under no management, full communism in effect, all food free, all property collective” in what looks like The New School’s custom-created typeface has been removed after CSG denied full communism is in effect via Twitter. A committee Facebook page also posted a picture of the poster on Wednesday.
2:56 PM: Tourists riding on the upper deck of a Big Bus tour bus point at occupiers’ posters that have been taped to windows facing 14th St.
2:53 PM: Tours are still being given of the University Center, including the cafeteria. The group has been offered food.
12:52 PM: A clothing swap has been set up outside the cafeteria. Maya Wiley is also in the hallway.
12:49 PM: Some students are thinking about making a documentary similar to “New School Struggle.” Students of color say they already have.
12:41 PM: Occupiers hold another general assembly.
12:02 PM: A sign reading, “No food in tarp area,” has been posted to the blue tarp covering a relaxation area. Day four officially begins.
2:26 AM: Many occupiers are now asleep. Some convene in the dining area, while others watch a movie or write papers. The CSG flag has been moved.
May 3
9:57 PM: A street medic has been called to lead a workshop on things like what to do when tear gas is used and how to make splints out of cardboard. Street medics go through ~20 hours of training.
8:40 PM: Dinner has been put out and includes pasta, sauce, salad, and an array of vegetables.
7:25 PM: NYPD leave the University Center to shouts from the group of “Bye bye, class traitors!” and “Don’t tell them to have a good night!”
7:22 PM: CSG tweets: “The police left. We are doing good and keeping on.”
7:22 PM: It is discovered that the officers are at the wrong building. They were looking for 80 5th Ave., not the University Center (63 5th Ave.)
7:17 PM: Two NYPD officers have arrived at the University Center, looking for 80 5th Ave. A group of occupiers and bystanders listen and record in as a university safety official tries to help.
7:08 PM: The CSG’s official Twitter account post images from inside the cafeteria, where all four entrances were barricaded with tables and chairs, with the caption, “The police is in the building.”
1:23 PM: There have been no contracts signed yet, according to Maldonado. He has a meeting at 5 p.m. to discuss the other demands.
1:22 PM: Jose Maldonado, the secretary-treasurer of UNITE 100, which represents food service workers, has come to talk to students occupying. “There’s 32 workers now. If they need 25 workers, they will offer employment at The New School elsewhere,” Maldonado said.
1:12 PM: “I came here for the last chapter of my life, to retire. To feed you guys and to love you guys,” said Abad DeGaffe, who has worked at The New School for two years.
12:57 PM: “The New School is going to make the most profitable decision, and it’s our responsibility that students do not continue to exploit workers,” said Victoria Capraro, third year and member of CSG. “We are not leaving until every demand is met.”
12:47 PM: “I think if we continue to occupy, the administration will meet our demands,” said Gregory Burton, student.
12:38 PM: The Communist Student Group’s next rally will be on May 8, according to Eli Nadeau, a member of CSG. SENS-UAW, the student worker union, has designated May 8 as Strike Day.
12:37 PM: The rally has ended and students are returning to occupy the UC cafeteria.
12:35 PM: “Communist Student Group is going to continue fighting and we support [the cafeteria workers]. It was only because of the occupation that happened,” said Griswold. “We saved every single job.”
12:23 PM: “Continue this fight until every demand is met,” said Rodrick “Prince” Prude, a cafeteria worker.
12:18 PM: “This rally is called in solidarity by the student worker collective and communist student group,” said Eli Nadeau, a student worker who is pursuing a PhD in politics.
12 PM: New School students, as well as students from NYU and CUNY, gather outside of the University Center for the solidarity rally organized by the Communist Student Group.
May 2
3:59 PM: Upon arriving at the Orozco Room at Lang, members of the Communist Student Group discover the meeting is actually not between the Board of Trustees, but rather between the Schools of Public Engagement’s Board of Governors meeting. David Van Zandt will not be in attendance.
3:33 PM: Griswold announces that they have found out where a meeting at 4 p.m. of the Board of Trustees is taking place. They are asking for volunteers to go and “disrupt” it and to ask why their demands are not being met.
3:24 PM: The food committee, established earlier today, is now called the Occupied New School Cafeteria Working Group, and is currently preparing a meal to feed 250 people. Their long term plan is to teach cooking classes and to run the cafeteria, believing workers do better without bosses.
3:05 PM: Occupiers and members of the newly minted “Press Committee” have created a Facebook page, where interested parties can find information about rally times, press releases, and other announcements.
2:46 PM: Professor Eric Anthamatten’s, “Prisons, Punishment & Global (In)Justice” class is meeting in the corner between the grill and the salad bar. They have a guest speaker.
12:47 PM: Maya Wiley, senior vice president for Social Justice arrives and sits in on the meeting.
12:32 PM: A meeting is called to provide updates, host an open forum, and to establish various committees. The committees: press release, flyers, food, rally, contact, and class visits.
12:15 PM: Lily, a sophomore studying Integrated Design, has been appointed temporary dishwasher. She is filling bowls with hand soap in lieu of dish soap.
11:07 AM: The May Day Worker-Student Struggle Committee holds a meeting in the dining area. Letters spelling the word “OCCUPY” have been taped to the windows behind them and preface the “THE NEW SCHOOL” stencil.
8:48 AM: Demonstrators begin moving couches away from a makeshift breakfast bar to accommodate non-protesting students looking for food.
8:33 AM: Occupiers post on their newly launched site a “How to Help” post detailing their mission, how students can request that their class be taught in the cafeteria, and how to Venmo the occupiers’ fund.
7:34 AM: Demonstrators gain entry to the kitchen, until this point believed to be locked, and are bringing out food.
7:23AM: Demonstrators rearrange the display of flags and posters, moving one featuring David Van Zandt’s face to the hallway and replacing it with a Black Lives Matter flag.
7:18AM: The first patrons arrive looking for breakfast and promptly leave when they see the scene in the cafeteria. The lights are still off, many of the windows have been blocked out with flags and signs, and several people inside are still sleeping.
6:30AM: The first demonstrators begin waking up as the occupation enters its second day. They are using the coffee maker and are putting out trays of bagels, fruit, and pastries from the cafeteria.
3:53 AM: Lights are officially shut off. Many demonstrators are sleeping on couches, chairs pushed together, under a large blue tarp, on inflatable air mattresses, and on benches in the dining room.
1:39 AM: Students begin to design a project to put a massive “OCCUPY” over the university’s “THE NEW SCHOOL” facing 5th Ave, located on the 2nd floor of the UC. Printing credits are being offered by many to help contribute.
1:21 AM: People figure out how to dim the lights, though there appears to be only three settings: on, partly on, and off. After turning lights all the way off, many students say it’s too dark, and the lights are set to be partly on. Several strands of holiday lights add an extra glow.
12:55 AM: People appear to settle in for the night.
12:05 AM: Organizers begin passing around a sign-up sheet, where people can sign up to take sleep shifts, so that there is always someone awake to defend the space.
May 1
11:37 PM: People from DSA get the coffee machine to work, while other demonstrators find boxes of poundcake left in the fridges behind the salad bar.
10:27 PM: People from DSA lead demonstrators in “Songs for May Day,” including “Solidarity Forever!” DSA calls a “Mic Check,” and encourage that “each to their ability,” Venmo the demonstrators’ Venmo occupation fund.
10:19 PM: DSA, whose numbers near 100, enter the cafeteria after being signed in as guests by demonstrators. They carry red flags, blow on noisemakers, and chant, “Up, up, up with the workers! Down, down, down with the bosses!” sing “We Shall Not Be Moved!” and join in New School demonstrators’ chants of “Every single job! All of us or none!”
Griswold acknowledges that the occupation is now entering the eleventh hour. Chants of “A, Anti, Anticapitalista!” break out from DSA.
10:09 PM: Students have begun signing in members of the Democratic Socialists of America arrivals as guests, while one of the two security guards at the front desk makes a call. Students are allowed to sign in three people at a time.
8:50 PM: Ms. V addresses students. “From my understanding, the president wanted y’all – maybe if y’all get hungry, y’all will leave. But y’all were smarter than that.”
8:35 PM: Griswold reads a statement regarding the occupation:
“The Communist student group led a militant action this morning to resist the mass layoff of up to 50 cafeteria workers. More than 150 students blocked and shutdown the university cafe. We want to interfere and we want to interfere until the very end. Let’s fight together. Everything or nothing, all of us or none. ”
See the timestamp to access the full 14 minute video.
7:42 PM: The amount of furniture moved into the cafeteria continues to grow, and now includes three couches taken from the faculty lounge relocated to the UC following the fire at 2 W 13th St.
6:57 PM: The New School Communist Student Group has hung their banner over the smoothie station.
6:52 PM: Occupiers have put together and posted a wish list, which includes, among other things: extension cords, pillows, and a tea kettle. It also states that the group has received $150 via Venmo from supporters.
6:50 PM: NSSR professor Sandro Mezzadra has relocated his “Theories of Capitalism” class to the cafeteria.
6:44 PM: The Communist Student Group officially announces their plans to stay in the cafeteria overnight.
4:10 PM: The Communist Student Group holds their general assembly. Griswold announces new developments, including that “administration is already beginning to break down,” saying that they were asked to send three members of CSG and three workers to meet with them and negotiate demands.
“But we told them, we are not here to negotiate, we are here to occupy until every single demand is made! We will not let them set the terms, We set the terms! If they want to speak, they can come here and speak to all of us,” Griswold said.
Griswold also announces the creation of the May Day Worker-Student Struggle Committee, which he says will be “the organ of power through which students and workers exercise their power and impose their will.”
4:09 PM: Plans ensue to create a worker-student “May Day Committee” to help centralize the struggle. Occupiers say the administration in no position to negotiate.
3:10 PM: Preparation are being made for an overnight stay. “I think overnight is happening,” Griswold says.
3:05 PM: Organizers call for a mic check. Griswold announces the general assembly meeting at 4:00pm and asks people to spread the word about it.
2:51 PM: Griswold reads a statement of solidarity from Scott Carter, who was instrumental in organizing a similar demonstration at TNS in 1997.
2:42 PM: The occupation officially enters its third hour.
2:34 PM: Workers have been instructed by higher ups to take all the remaining food and throw it away. Higher ups in cafeteria staff supposedly think that students will leave if there is no food, according to a cafeteria who asked to be left anonymous. Students have been taking food both for themselves and for the homeless.
2:24 PM: Food and serving utensil start to be taken away on carts by cafeteria workers.
2:13 PM: Some demonstrators begin singing.
2:06 PM: The cafeteria’s power is cut, “for safety” according to workers. Many more people are coming in and out of the cafeteria. Some have said they are taking bags of food out to the homeless. Because of power cut, food is sitting out.
1:22 PM: Organizers read a text exchange between them and Amy Malsin, Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs.
Malsin: “We will continue to welcome input from the community as we strive to provide service and a great place to work. Please be advised that the union has agreed to discussions about employment at the university, as noted above.”
CSG: “Thanks for getting in touch. Students here would like to hear directly from someone in administration, in person. They would also like to communicate they are not leaving the cafeteria until demands are met.”
Malsin: “What are those demands?”
CSG: “We would like to communicate them in person.”
1:19 PM: Ms. V addresses students again, “They can put their name on the check, but y’all take care of me and I do appreciate y’all taking care of me and my family. But, I’m not going to let them take me down without taking care of my family.”
1:15 PM: Students begin unplugging the computer monitors in the cafeteria, and covering the dark screens with handmade posters reading “We stand with workers!” as well as several copies of printed ones reading “PROTEST ORGANIZE OCCUPY WALK OUT RESIST STRIKE SHUT IT DOWN.”
1:08 PM: Demonstrators begin covering security cameras inside the cafeteria with things like flyers and gloves. An organizer later said it was to protect demonstrators’ identities.
1:00 PM: Sophia Garcia, a student demonstrator, addresses the crowd, alleging that she “doesn’t think this would happen to an all-white staff.”
“No, it wouldn’t have happened to an all-white staff!” Ms. V shouts as demonstrators cheer in support.
12:57 PM: Griswold addresses students while demonstrators begin making smoothies and sandwiches at the island station.
12:40 PM: A cafeteria worker addresses demonstrators via megaphone. Thrusting her right fist into the air she yells, “This is like the greatest day ever.” She adds: “All power to the people!”
12:38 PM: Griswold and other organizers begin distributing copies of “Struggle,” an independent Communist/Maoist publication.
12:36 PM: Students have started taking food from the cafeteria, including bags of things like muffins, croissants, and pastries that they intend to bring to the homeless.
12:33 PM: Griswold suggests people start “settling in” and that they start working on finals because they intend “to be here for awhile.”
12:29 PM: Cafeteria workers address demonstrators via megaphone.
12:25 PM: Students begin making posters that read things like “We stand with workers!”
12:05 PM: Demonstrators chant: “All of us, or none! Every single job!” while people beat on the walls and door frames.
12:02 PM: Griswold addresses the demonstrators: “We call for collective struggle! All of us, or none!
11:52 AM: Robert Griswold, a member of the Communist Student Group, notices that some cafeteria workers have continued to work, making smoothies. Griswold yells into the megaphone: “We are shutting down the fucking cafeteria!”
11:50 AM: Students begin moving into the cafeteria on the second floor of the University Center, using tables and chairs from the dining area to block the four entrances to the cafeteria.
11:35 AM: Students begin congregating in the hallway outside the UC cafeteria.
Tuesday, May 2 11:30 AM: Occupation is scheduled to start, as per announcements from the Communist Student Group.