Representatives of a group of Jewish students at Cooper Union want the university’s president fired for what they say was a failure to protect them from a group of pro-Palestinian protesters who surrounded them in the school’s library on Wednesday.
“She failed in her job,” attorney Gerard Filitti said of university president Laura Sparks at a press conference Thursday at the East 7th Street campus.
“All of these schools have an obligation to keep students safe – and these students are not safe,” he continued. “They don’t feel safe returning to campus. They are not here today. They are afraid to be here today because of what happened yesterday.”
Filitti also said he wanted to press criminal charges against the protesters, saying he would sue the school and calling for an investigation into why the NYPD was allegedly slow to respond — he said students were trapped in the room for at least 40 minutes despite the repetition. 911 call.
“We don’t want a rerun of Columbine,” Filitti said. “We want police officers, in uniform, to help these people.”
The NYPD disputed this account, however, with Patrol Chief John Chell saying Thursday that officers were there “from start to finish” and that the pro-Palestinian group only pounded on the library windows for about 10 minutes.
Pro-Palestinian protesters rally, push posters against glass and knock on Cooper Union library doors.X / @thislouis Video shows protesters past security trying to stop them from going up stairs.X / @JakeyKluger
“No threat at all,” Chell said. “There was no damage, and there was no danger to any students at the school. . . students are not hindered.”
Filitti denied this, saying students did not see police in uniform until after 8 p.m
“Clearly, there is a discrepancy between what the NYPD is saying and what the students are actually experiencing,” the lawyer said.
Protesters – many of them carrying Palestinian flags and “Zionism Hands Off Our Universities” signs – had scheduled a 1pm demonstration outside the 7 East 7th St building. when they decide to move in.
Follow The Post’s coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas
A group of several dozen protesters passed security guards’ attempts to stop them, video show.
They appeared to be heading to university president Laura Sparks’ office to demand that she condemn Israel’s attacks on the civilians of the Gaza Strip when they suddenly spun into the library
Security on the 7th floor locked the door to keep them out, but that didn’t stop them from banging on a large glass window and chanting, one of the 11 students trapped inside told The Post.
“When they started knocking on the door, my heart started pounding,” the student said. “I was crying. I thought if the door wasn’t locked — I don’t know what would have happened.”
Lawyer Gerard Filitti said he wanted criminal charges against the protesters. Councilor Stephen Yang Inna Vernikov spoke at the press conference, flanked by parents of students.Stephen Yang
In a Thursday statement posted on the school’s website, Sparks did not directly respond to calls for her to step down, but said the student protest took the dispute to a “new and unacceptable level.”
He said the library was closed for about 20 minutes at about 4pm as student protesters walked through the building. Library staff were also inside, he said, and the protesters dispersed around 5:30 p.m
“Cooper Union’s security team communicated with the NYPD throughout the day and evening, and the NYPD was on campus this evening and remained on campus after attendees dispersed,” Sparks wrote.
An elderly Jewish man recalled being “absolutely terrified” as the demonstration moved toward the building.@StopAntisemites/ X NYPD was at scheduled protests all the time.X / @JakeyKluger
“There is room for debate and productive dissent here, but there is no tolerance for hate or threatening behavior,” he continued. “We condemn any form of discrimination, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. We condemn any form of hateful and threatening behavior – written, verbal, visual or physical.”
How celebrities, schools and businesses responded to Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel
But the statement may not be as comforting to those as Sari Ancona, whose daughter was trapped inside the library during the ordeal.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest news on Hamas attacks on Israel
“He felt they were trying to get in, break the window and get in there and do something,” Ancona told The Post. “They were scared, they locked the door.
“The police finally showed up, and they let the kids out,” he continued.
“I saw my daughter right after – she was terrified,” Ancona said. “He’s afraid to be on this campus.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
