DigiActive.org

NYU Student Protests: A Digital Occupation

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emry/3297069286/

Background: On February 18, 2009, a group of NYU students calling themselves Take Back NYU (TBNYU) barricaded themselves inside the university’s Kimmel Center for Student Life cafeteria, the Kimmel MarketPlace. Armed with laptops and wireless internet connections, the group published a list of 12 demands, including disclosure of the university’s operating budget, assurance of fair labor practices for all NYU employees, the creation of a Socially Responsible Finance Committee, tuition stabilization, scholarships for Palestinian students and free public access to Bobst library.

 The occupation continued the next day and into the night, with administrators reluctant to remove protesters by force and unwilling to negotiate with students behind the barricade. During the day on Wednesday, February 19, students stormed the building, entering the barricade to take part in the protest. Late Thursday night and early Friday morning the scene outside the building, where numerous supporters, critics and police officers had gathered, erupted into a riot. One NYU public safety officer was injured and taken to St. Vincent’s hospital in an ambulance. Numerous students reported that pepper spray had been used on them, although this was unconfirmed by the police.

 By Friday afternoon, the remaining students in Kimmel had been escorted from the building; all 18 were suspended. None of their demands were met.

 Technology: Why was the Kimmel occupation different from other student protests? TBNYU entered the student center knowing they would have full internet access, and they took advantage of that. The event was advertised as a “study breakdown” on TBNYU’s blog. Once the protesters barricaded themselves inside the cafeteria, they published their demands and wrote entries about the scene within the barricade, all of which could be accessed on their web site. TBNYU also recorded the events on Twitter, offered a live streaming broadcast, so people outside could actually talk to those inside Kimmel, and posted photos. Additionally, members of TBNYU had tipped off NYULocal, a blog that covers NYU news, and the site responded by installing a reporter in the Kimmel MarketPlace. The reporter, Charlie Eisenhood, liveblogged the events from the inside for over 30 hours. Meanwhile, Washington Square News (WSN), NYU’s newspaper, blogged about the occupation, the scene outside and the administration response, updating posts continuously over the three-day period. Between TBNYU’s coverage and the NYULocal and WSN blogs, the Kimmel occupation was one of the most comprehensively addressed student protests in recent years.

 Impacts:

1.     Take Back NYU was able to garner greater numbers of followers, who either stood in solidarity or actually entered the MarketPlace. For instance, Anna Mullen, an NYU sophomore, heard about the protest on Take Back NYU’s blog and decided to join the occupation. She was one of the 18 suspended on Friday, along with other individuals who were not part of the original planning for the event.

2.     The widespread coverage on blogging sites and campus media outlets certainly most likely encouraged administrators to use caution when removing the protesters from the building. NYU was extremely hesitant to involve the NYPD, and did not take significant action to remove the students until the Market Place had been occupied for nearly two full days.

3.     The sit-in attracted national and international attention. The New York Times reported on the occupation, Noam Chomsky sent TBNYU a letter of solidarity, and New York City Councilman Charles Barron came to the NYU campus to speak in support of the students as they were escorted from the building February 20.

4.     Incorrect information about the situation in Kimmel reached a large number of people. WSN originally reported incorrectly that an individual’s arm was broken in the riot outside the Kimmel Center, leading many to believe that injuries and violence were more grave than was actually true.

5.     Things did get violent. Discussions on NYULocal and WSN chat forums became heated, and a large number of individuals stood outside Kimmel because they had read about or watched portions of the occupation on the internet. These same individuals were involved in the riot that ensued early Friday morning.

6.     The administration was easily able to sap much of the movement’s power simply by removing a connection to technology. TBNYU was relying on NYU’s wireless internet service. Friday morning protesters reported that electrical outlets in Kimmel were not working. Commentators speculated the administration hoped to render the students’ laptops useless, severing their connection with the outside world. Several hours later, the protesters exited the building.

Action Alert: Blog Action Day 2008

What? Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty
When? October 15, 2008
Where? on your blog
Why? To raise awareness and trigger a global discussion on poverty.

Vimeo has announced it’s 2008 challenge to bloggers, called Blog Action Day.  It’s meant to encourage and empower bloggers around the world to focus on one pertinent issue to write about on 15 October 2008.  Their aim every year is to “raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.”

This year’s topic is focused on global poverty.  Vimeo has even provided bloggers with a video (below) to post beforehand to spread the word, which I’ve gone and posted on my blog, and have seen several times this week on other blogs!  Please join in this effort, and follow the links below to learn more.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Tactics: Tibetans Get the News Out Despite Media Censorship

Description: Last week hundreds of Tibetan monks took to the streets in and near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa to protest Chinese rule. Although the heavily censored Chinese media refused to cover the story, both Tibetans and foreign tourists used the Internet to get the news out. According to the Vancouver Sun, “Amateur cellphone photos and video clips showing what were described as confrontations between police and Tibetans protesting Chinese rule poured onto websites big and small, including those for major news media, Tibetan rights groups and tourist blogs.”

Organizer: unclear

Purpose of Action: To protest Chinese rule of Tibet.

Organizing Tools: e-mail, digital photos, mainstream media sites that accept user-generated content (like BBC), web sites of sympathetic NGOs, travel blogs of tourists, cell phone video uploaded to YouTube.com,

Outcome: Bringing global attention to protests that the Chinese government would prefer to silence.

Ease of Replication: Unless the government shuts down the Internet, as occurred during the recent protests in Burma, using individual e-mail accounts, cell phones, and blogs to distribute information and images is an effective way to get around domestic media censorship.

cell phone image of protests published on the site of a Tibetan rights NGO based in India

Read more »

Theory: Digital Activism and the Digital Divide in Kenya

Although this site is about how technology empowers activists on a global scale, we must not be blind optimists or think of digital activism as a panacea. For this reason we include thoughtful criticism of digital activism. If we want to make truly meaningful change we must address the Pros & Cons of digital activism.

Today’s note of digital skepticism comes from the Kenyan blogger White African in a post entitled “It’s Not About Us, it’s About Them” he writes:

While blogging, emails, Twitter and the internet are doing a great deal of good getting the news out of what’s going on in Kenya to the rest of the world, I find myself troubled. You see, the communication that needs to be happening is at the grassroots level. Everyday Kenyans do not have access to any of these services.
Let’s put our minds and capabilities towards solving real problems for people beyond the technologically elite.

Let’s put our minds and capabilities towards solving real problems for people beyond the technologically elite.

Action Alert: Day of Blog Silence for Fouad

What? Day of Blog Silence to Protest the Imprisonment of Blogger Fouad Alfarhan
When? Sunday, January 6, 2008
Where? blogs around the world
How? On that day, bloggers will not write on their blogs, but instead will post a Free Fouad banner, like the one above. (Both banners are posted full-size at the bottom of this post.)
Why? To free a blogger imprisoned for criticiznig his government and to send a message that we will not tolerate the persecution of free speech in the blogosphere.
Who is organizing the action? Mideast Youth Read more »

Tactic: We Blog Freedom Slogan

translation: “We Blog Freedom”

I really liked this image from Abdel Monem’s blog, Ana Ikhwan (based in Egypt) so I’ve posted it here. It’s a nice inspirational message for digital activists (and we can all use a little inspiration). It illustrates a longer post (in Arabic) about imprisoned bloggers.  It demonstrates the importance of having an effective slogan for your online campaign.