CITY COLLEGE–During the chaos surrounding a pro-Palestinian protest and CCNY Public Safety’s response at City College on Thursday, April 24, a group of 10-20 people was pepper-sprayed by a Public Safety officer, entrances to campus were closed, and one CCNY student was arrested.
The protest, which started at 1:30 p.m. on the quad– the location of the CUNY pro-Palestinian encampment last April– attracted a large Public Safety presence from the start. The protest then moved to just outside the entrance of the NAC. Protestors chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” referring to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” referring to demands for CUNY administration to disclose and divest from investments into companies involved with Israel.
At 2:12 p.m., CCNY Public Safety officer Anthony Pestana pepper-sprayed a group of people at the entrance to City College on 135 Street and Convent Avenue. According to a CCNY employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the group of people was a mix of protestors and unaffiliated people. The employee, who was on their way to the North Academic Center and was not involved in the protests, told The Campus that they flushed pepper spray out of the eyes of a student they knew, describing the experience as “heartbreaking.”
