Breaking: NYU Students and Faculty Block Access to Bobst Library, Leading to Arrests

Students and faculty block the entrance to Bobst Library.

After students and faculty departed NYU’s Bobst library around 9pm last night, a call to “block the entrances to Bobst on the last day of class” was posted on NYU’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Instagram this morning. 

The post stated that “this action follows an action staged yesterday inside Bobst library wherein 13 students and faculty members staged a 5-hour sit-in on the administrative floor of Bobst library.” 

Yesterday’s sit-in included a section honoring SJP’s martyrs, one of them being Muhannad Tafesh, a member of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades, involved in the October 7 attack on Israel. 

Jonathan Math, a 32-year-old grad student at NYU Tandon, attempted to enter Bobst library to study for his final. “Accosted by faculty, they tried to physically move me with their bodies. I was hit in the face with a sign. I was told where I can and cannot stand by campus safety,” Math says. 

“When finally trying to enter the library with my ID in hand, I was told I could not come in and it was only after a verbal confrontation that I was allowed in…Police did nothing but offer me an ambulance when I told them I was hit in the face with a sign and said they didn’t even see anything even though they were standing right there.” 

Many students are in the midst of finals, and Bobst library serves as a quiet study space for them. With the protests there, some are frustrated with having to turn to other locations. 

In an email to university students and staff, NYU Vice President, Fountain Walker, emphasized that “Violence and threats of violence directed against members of our community will not be tolerated and they are illegal.” 

A campus advisory at 11:10am stated that, “It is impermissible to block access to our buildings.” 

Eight arrests were made following the library blockade, according to an NYU campus advisory.

At about 2pm, NYU sent out another campus advisory to students and staff stating that “Police came to the scene to help ensure the safety of community members and maintain order. Eight arrests of the protesters who repeatedly refused to stop blocking the entrances and walkway were made.” 

Several protesters remain outside the library, though according to the advisory, “library operations have resumed.” 

NYU spokesman John Beckman and NYU SJP did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This is a developing story, stay tuned for updates.