As major college campuses are increasingly becoming epicenters for protests about the war in Gaza, a smaller institution — the Fashion Institute of Technology — became embroiled in the issue Thursday afternoon.
An estimated crowd of 150 pro-Palestine demonstrators poured into FIT‘s Goodman Center Thursday afternoon — some running past security guards and school officials, who tried to deter them. Many in the crowd wore masks, carried signs and chanted and clapped once indoors near the entry to the Museum at FIT beneath the kelly green mural for the current exhibition “Statement Sleeves.” A few stood waving Palestinian flags, based on video footage of the incident. Six security guards, who were wearing uniforms, neon vests and hats imprinted with “security,” tried unsuccessfully to close one of the main street-front entrances to the building, as eight or so protesters held it open.
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New York City Police Department representatives said Friday that no arrests had been made, and no reports were on file regarding the FIT protest Thursday. Earlier Friday morning two NYPD representatives said it was unclear whether police had been called to the scene Thursday.
An FIT spokesperson said Friday, “We are monitoring and managing the situation to ensure the safety of the entire FIT community, which remains our highest priority.”
As of late Sunday afternoon, “several” protesters remained in the lobby near the Museum at FIT and there was also “a small encampment” near the campus breezeway, according to a FIT spokesperson, who reiterated that the campus community’s safety remains the highest priority.
FIT has security detail stationed inside and outside of its buildings on West 27th Street. There are also regular patrols by the New York Police Department’s 10th precinct that are being done to monitor the situation.
Representatives from FIT’s crisis management team are said to be in touch with the protesters to try to work towards a peaceful conclusion to the situation. FIT officials are also said to be assessing the viability of upcoming student campus activities.
Thursday’s protest and indoor encampment was led by FIT Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that described itself as a “diverse collective of students against occupation at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC.”
FIT, which is part of the State University of New York, is one of the latest schools nationwide to be dealing with campus protests, which in some cases have led to encampments and arrests. Last week more than 100 students at Columbia University were arrested, after school officials called upon the NYPD to remove a group of students in an encampment. There have also been protests at the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, Northwestern University, Harvard University, Yale University, Emerson College and more.
Some Jewish students and alumni have called the protests antisemitic. And some students and pro-Palestinian protesters have asked colleges to divest from companies that help arm Israel and companies with links to Israel. In addition to the clash of opposing views of the war in Gaza, the college protests heighten debate about free speech and how leaders deal with that at educational institutions. In some instances, substantial donors on both sides of the debate are pulling back their philanthropy, depending on a school’s actions or inaction. New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft withdrew his support from his alma mater Columbia earlier this week.
The SJP group alleged on Instagram that FIT had banned them from organizing on campus, and that students and student workers had been evicted, fined and fired for passing out fliers. The organization listed one demand for the FIT Foundation, SUNY (the state university network that FIT is part of) and the SUNY Research Foundation is to enact a “complete cultural, academic and economic boycott of the illegal settler state.” The student protesters are also calling for financial transparency from the three aforementioned entities. The group is calling upon FIT’s president Joyce Brown and SUNY Chancellor John B. King “to make a public statement in writing or in speech acknowledging the genocide in Gaza.” The fourth request is that FIT’s Residential Life drop all charges against FIT students.
The Museum at FIT was closed Friday and access to the Gladys Marcus Library was limited.
Located on Seventh Avenue several blocks south of Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, FIT has a long history for producing top-shelf talent for the fashion industry. Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Norma Kamali, Ralph Rucci, Dennis Basso, Bibhu Mohapatra and Nina Garcia are among the thousands who have studied there. The school dates back to 1944 when a group of educators and New York’s Garment District leaders founded it to address the dwindling workforce in the apparel industry at that time. Unlike the first class of 100 students who studied in borrowed classrooms, now more than 8,000 students are learning amidst a nine-building campus.
Asked to comment Friday regarding SJP’s calls for the foundation to adhere to a boycott and financial transparency, Philips McCarty, the executive director of the FIT Foundation, deferred to the school’s public relations leader and Brown’s spokesperson.
The group’s claims also included that FIT Residential Life and Administration fired and evicted a student who was a resident assistant in a dormitory, and is allegedly punishing two “dorming” students for pro-Palestine speech in dorms. The group also alleged that the school shut down the student flea market over a pro-Palestinian student booth that was selling pro-Palestine merchandise to support the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and SJP.
Asked to comment Friday regarding SJP’s calls for the foundation to adhere to a boycott and financial transparency, Philips McCarty, the executive director of the FIT Foundation, and Liz Manalio, the FIT Foundation’s assistant vice president, each deferred to the school’s public relations leader and McCarty referred to Brown’s spokesperson as well. Asked for comment about the FIT situation and the SJP’s demands, a SUNY spokesperson issued a statement Sunday, “Student safety on our campuses is paramount, and SUNY is committed to ensuring that our campuses are safe, inclusive, and enable students to express themselves responsibly. SUNY is in regular communication with all of our campuses, including FIT, to provide guidance, resources, training, and support. Chancellor [John] King has made it absolutely clear since the horrific Hamas attack of October 7th that SUNY stands with Israel in the face of terrorism and that there is no place for antisemitism at SUNY. SUNY stands with Governor Hochul in rejecting BDS.
The statement continued, “Consistent with our mission and federal and New York State law, including the U.S. and New York State Constitutions, campuses are responsible for both freedom of expression and ensuring a safe learning environment for all of our students.”
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on April 28 at 7:05 p.m.