Students at Cooper Union in New York began a sit-in this morning. They have planted themselves inside the office of Jamshed Bharucha, the university's president. It appears that the protest is in regards to the school's recent decision to start charging tuition for the first time in its 154-year history.
Some reports state that over 60 people are engaging in the protest. Hyperallergic says at least three faculty members have joined. Students also put up black banners around the school’s Cooper Union Foundation Building as a metaphor. You see, the institution's founder, Peter Cooper, wanted to make a school that was “open and free to all.” The school, which offers classes in in art, engineering, and architecture, has around 1,000 students. Roughly half of them who attend the school have signed a vote of no confidence document over what appears to have been Bharucha's decision.
The sit-in is being live streamed right now, which you can see below.
[via Artinfo]
