SUNY New Paltz students walk out after mass arrests
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (NEWS10) – New York State Police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestine protesters Thursday night at an encampment on the SUNY New Paltz Campus. On Friday afternoon students responded by walking out of class and demonstrated in front of the administration building.
Hundreds of students denounced SUNY’s financial ties to Israel. They demanded the administration divest. They walked out of the Humanities building, at noon, and chanted throughout campus.
Emily Pinson is from Albany and is currently studying International Relations at SUNY New Paltz. She was one of the protesters who was arrested Thursday night.
“They were dragging me by my hand. My wrist is still swollen. My friend got choked. I have another friend who got a gash on the head. They have a concussion. They said they needed to go to the hospital, but they ignored them for 20 minutes,” said Pinson. “They were tearing us apart.”
She said people were grabbed by the throat and dragged. She witnessed people getting beaten with batons.
SUNY New Paltz English Professor Mary Holland said students were non-violent and the police responded with excessive force. Recounting Thursday night’s events made her upset.
“The sight of – it’s very upsetting – police in riot gear, with dogs, and clubs, and guns coming at a bunch of peaceful protesters on my campus was awful,” said Holland.
The university said many protesters were not students. Evan Holland-Shepler – Mary’s son – was one of them. He is the chairman of the New Paltz Democratic Committee and said he was there to defend the First Amendment because the freedom of speech and the freedom to assemble are essential to democracy.
“In 1970, in response to the Kent State massacre, for five days SUNY New Paltz students occupied a building. In less than 48 hours the police – under Governor Hochul and President Wheeler – with clubs, with guns, and with dogs, arrested over 130 protesters who were sitting on grass not in a building. What does that say to you?,” said Holland-Shepler. “What this says to me is that 54 years ago New Paltz was a more accepting place for political speech than today.”
He said what happened Thursday night goes against what he learned in college in his civil liberties classes.
SUNY New Paltz President Darrell Wheeler issued a statement and said students have a right to exercise free speech on campus but defended the decision to use force. That statement read in part: “I am duty-bound to uphold limits on the time, place and manner of free speech demonstrations without abridging the content of the speech." He called the rights to free speech and protest, “expansive but not unlimited.”
Despite widespread injuries and arrests the students said they remain committed and hopeful.
“I feel empowered. I really appreciate seeing so many people stand with us. And even yesterday, people outside of the encampment, like, barricading us from the police and filming and then when I saw them all run away because the police were approaching, it was horrifying,” said Pinson.