BROOKLYN COLLEGE–Following the NYPD’s response to a pro-Palestine demonstration that took place on May 8, several student groups and organizations have denounced the call for police intervention.
On Monday, May 12, the BC Student Union (BCSU) planned a general assembly meeting on the East Quad. Their purpose, according to a statement provided to The Vanguard, was to “gather as a community, discuss the NYPD and CUNY’s violence against students on May 8th, and grow our movement to defend free speech and safety on campus.”
The event was declared an unauthorized event by the Office of Student Affairs. Student clubs who shared information about the event received an email mentioning that any clubs participating in the event would violate the BC Events Policy.
According to the statement, several CUNY Public Safety officers interrogated students and faculty, asking if they were protesting. Prior to the meeting, the NYPD had unloaded barricades onto Bedford Avenue according to footage captured by The Vanguard.
“The college offered an alternate meeting space that would have required students to cross a street full of armed NYPD officers, which was unsafe given the violence that occurred the week before,” the Student Union mentioned in the statement. The general assembly was ultimately called off.
