SUNY New Paltz continues to unpack 'brutal' protest response: What happens next
In reviewing what led to the on-campus arrests of 132 protestors at State University of New York at New Paltz during the takedown of a pro-Palestinian protest on May 2, the school's administration has pointed to possible miscommunication, disproportionate police action and overlooked student trauma.
SUNY New Paltz President Darrell Wheeler, who spoke to students and faculty at a year-end meeting in a packed lecture hall on May 9th, said he called for law enforcement to intervene that night when he was told protestors were planning to put tents used in the encampment, which began the day before, back up on Parker Quad — the tents had been dismantled earlier in the evening.
What unfolded next — roughly 170 police officers by the university's count from multiple agencies, many carrying batons and accompanied by K9 units, arriving on campus and arresting 132 people in a tumultuous scene — he said, "was not the design. It was not the aspiration.
"It was UPD (University Police Department) come in, move the encampment out, and then we continue with the dialogue. That's not what happened clearly."
Students recount 'brutal' encounters at New Paltz
Many students of color and those from vulnerable communities such as the LGBTQ+ community spoke during a comment section at the faculty meeting. They shared experiences including a police officer who "showed open hostility" to a student who is transgender, officers prying students apart with batons and dragging them across the ground.
"The encounters during the raid were brutal," said Nawrah Zamir, a SUNY New Paltz student who was one of two trained emergency medical technicians providing medical assistance at the protest and said she helped drive students to area hospitals. "Students were dragged by police officers. Some were mauled by the dogs. Some were sexually assaulted. Some were kicked in the face. Some were beat with batons and knocked unconscious."
Along with the school's Black Studies Department, 128 faculty members signed an open letter condemning "the police response as a brutal infringement of First Amendment freedoms."
The university, which was speaking for the UPD, would not comment on what guidance it, acting as lead agency, provided to the other agencies before the raid to mitigate injuries. The university said Wheeler has heard "many painful accounts" given by students. Wheeler has declined the Journal's requests for an interview.
Students said after the raid, the college "bulldozed" the quad, destroying laptops and personal items left over from the night before.
"Where are the places that I could have done better?" Wheeler said at the Thursday meeting. "Where are the places I could have engaged, as we talked about it with student association, where could I have engaged allies in this process? How could I have worked with Albany, as we call it, better in a more productive way? How could I have done these things? Those are the things I'm looking for."
Background: Over 100 people arrested at SUNY New Paltz encampment
Timeline of events
SUNY New Paltz administration and the student organizers of the campus protest had conducted discussions on May 1 when the encampment began, and again on May 2.
Wheeler issued three statements to the New Paltz school community over those two days, updating the campus about the encampment, noting the existence of tents on campus as a violation of the student handbook and the university's intention to "exhaust all options to arrive at resolution with zero people injured and zero people arrested."
In an update posted at 10:20 p.m. May 2, Wheeler said, "The demonstrators have neither dispersed nor indicated an intention to do so. We are now initiating removal of the encampment by police."
"Campuses make the decision about when to call in outside law enforcement agencies for support, and law enforcement determines protocols and procedures based on their threat assessment of the specific circumstances,” a SUNY spokesperson said in a statement.
State Police of New York, Ulster County Sheriff's Office, New Paltz Police Department and the University Police responded to the New Paltz campus on May 2, where students were seen skateboarding, gathering in groups, sitting on benches, listening to music and chalking up the sidewalks. Inside a roped-off area, about 80 protesters locked arms and chanted.
Over a loudspeaker, University Police instructed the crowd to leave the quad, although some of the people gathered said the protesting students could not hear what was being said, and a University Police officer asked them to relay the message along.
When the protesters did not leave the quad, about 70 officers moved into the space.
Wheeler explained the University Police Department was the "frontline engagement" and that the "riot police" was the "final line of defense that were only supposed to come to campus if things got out of hand." He alluded to an "object" being thrown at police that may have been what triggered the hostility, a claim students vehemently denied.
Elsewhere in NY: Vassar will 'improve our understanding' following student encampment
Protesters charged with assault, trespassing
Within a 48-hour time period, police broke up protests on four SUNY campuses in early May, arresting about 250 people, most of them students.
Both the New York State Police, which supplied 114 troopers at New Paltz, and Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa have said batons were not used to strike protestors. Police agencies are required to file reports to the state 30 days after the end of the month when weapons such as the baton are brandished, used or deployed.
One person was charged with felony assault for throwing a metal Gatorade bottle and injuring a state police investigator. Three people were charged with misdemeanors for resisting arrest and the remainder with violations for trespassing, according to the Ulster County District Attorney.
More: Ulster County's sheriff, executive respond to 132 arrests at SUNY New Paltz protest
What happens next
Wheeler said he wished he had "focused first on supporting members of our community who have experienced trauma over the last few months and days rather than moving immediately to focusing on the path forward" after the arrests.
"In my eagerness to provide a clear signal of campus leadership’s priorities and planning, I did not adequately serve a campus community that needed time and space for processing intense emotions. I deeply regret the pain many of you are feeling," he said.
To date, the university said no formal complaints have been filed with the University Police or the school's Title IX or conduct offices. The university said there are "existing processes through which those individuals may submit a formal complaint, which will trigger an investigation." Any complaints regarding outside police would have to be filed with that police station.
Approaching commencement weekend, students involved in the encampment await news of any possible disciplinary action from the school. An early statement from the administration had indicated amnesty would be given to students "on condition that it be completely and peacefully dismantled" by the school's deadline. All the chairs from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have approved a statement asking all "disciplinary proceedings and threats of expulsion connected to the peaceful encampment" be dropped.
In a letter to the campus community posted Friday, Wheeler said he planned to attend a special meeting with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate which was scheduled to be held Wednesday to advance "a collaborative process of fact-finding and evaluating possible next actions."
"It is important to me, as I know it is important to many of you," he said, "that University leadership continues to listen to and partner with faculty and staff as we work toward next steps."
Saba Ali: Sali1@poughkeepsiejournal.com: 845-451-4518
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: SUNY New Paltz protest response draws scrutiny: What happened May 2
