Student Protest Forces Administration Into Course of Action

Plans Now Under Way to Reduce Speed of Motorists on Amsterdam Avenue

Goaded into action by a succession of automobile accidents on Amsterdam Avenue, hundreds of students protested on November 19 by blocking traffic on campus while waving signs and chanting slogans demanding that the street be closed to ensure student safety. Timed to coincide with a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of University Trustees, the protest was organized by the collective student leadership of YU spearheaded by The Commentator and YCSC, and resulted in promises of concrete action from the administration.

The impetus for the protest was a series of car accidents on Amsterdam Avenue between 184^th and 186^th Streets in the heart of YU's Uptown Campus. Three YU students were hit by vehicles over the span of a month; luckily, none suffered major injuries. Immediately following, a major accident involving neighborhood residents occurred on the corner of Amsterdam and 185^th, resulting in serious bodily harm to passengers in the cars.

Officially, Amsterdam Avenue between 183^rd and 186^th streets is supposed to be closed to vehicular traffic between the hours of 8 AM and 11 PM when students are walking about and going to classes. Signs posted on light poles and traffic signs prominently announce this fact, but in practice, the ordinance has not been enforced by the police department for a decade or more. Drivers regularly speed through the campus while throngs of students are crossing the street, creating a situation that Dror Barber, President of YCSC, called "ripe for disaster."

Called for 3:45 PM, word of the protest spread across campus. Organizers contacted fellow students by phone and in person, while The Commentator's technical staff sent out over three thousand e-mails to the entire YU community. Other students created banners, placards, stickers and fliers bearing various slogans expressing the students' demands.

The actual protest followed what is quickly becoming a YU tradition - the club-hour football game on the lawn in the Danciger Quadrangle. A crowd gathered as the game started, and quickly began to swell. Student leaders recruited their constituents passing by to join in and help "make the students' voices heard." The football game, coupled with the scheduling of the protest when students were on their way to their respective classes, resulted in over three hundred students congregating outside on campus.

At precisely a quarter to four, the students surged into the street, blocking all traffic at the intersection of Amsterdam and 185th. Waving signs and chanting "close our street," they created a wall of sound heard all across campus, as they blew whistles, banged on drums, rang cowbells, and shouted themselves hoarse. Drivers traversing the campus faced a seething student mass in the street, and had no choice but to turn off Amsterdam or turn around. YU's Department of Safety and Security, led by Chief of Security Don Sommers, quickly mobilized to direct traffic elsewhere. Windows popped open as curious teachers and administrators heard the noise and looked down to see what was transpiring in the street below. Others rushed outside to see firsthand what all the commotion was about.

Some students sat down in the street, while others began to clap and dance while singing the traditional Passover song "Dayenu," which translates as "We have had enough already." Signs bore slogans such as "How many more will it take?;" "Close our street before it's too late;" "Don't make me a victim;" and "Safety first!!" Totally disrupting traffic, the students only parted in order to allow a city bus to pass through.

President Barber addressed the assemblage, telling the students that "We are here to make ourselves heard, to make sure that they [the administration] hear our voice. How many accidents will it take until the University wakes up? Amsterdam Avenue is supposed to be closed to ensure our safety."

Ten minutes after it began, the protest was over. The leaders of the protest told the students to disperse, and they did, peacefully returning to class and allowing traffic to resume its normal, unimpeded flow down the street.

"We needed to rattle their cage," said one of the protest's organizers. "Legally, Amsterdam is supposed to be closed, but the administration is sitting idly by while our lives are at risk here. It is unfortunate that in YU student concerns tend to be last on any list of things the powers that be care about. Let this serve warning to them that the students are not going to be quiet, are not going to be docile while they stonewall and feed us bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo. This is our school, our yeshiva, and we are going to take it back."

One senior administrator, who wished to remain anonymous, rushed out to see the protest and said "It's a pleasure to finally see the students become pro-active. Now you guys might actually get something done."

Results

The protest had an immediate impact. University Dean of Students Efrem Nulman called student leaders directly following the demonstration to convey the administration's request that students cease and desist from taking any further "radical measures" until after the Thanksgiving break, when a Student Life meeting would be held to address the issue. The students agreed.

The meeting was attended by Nulman, Jeffery Rosengarten, Director of Supporting Services, Bernard Pittinsky, Associate Director of Finance, and various other administrative luminaries. Student representatives were present in large numbers owing to the gravity of the matter at hand.

Rosengarten explained to the students that the University was in discussions with the Department of Transportation to see what steps could be taken to remedy the situation. He spoke about the history of the issue and explained that the street would never be totally closed, owing to community considerations and the need to allow emergency vehicles to pass through. The students countered by explaining that they understood it was impractical to expect Amsterdam Avenue to be shut to all traffic, but that the intent of the protest was to get something done to slow down reckless drivers who speed through the campus. Rosengarten agreed that something had to be done, and discussed options such as speed bumps and "rumble strips," traffic reducing strips embedded in the pavement in order to slow the flow of traffic. He also stressed that students need to be more conscientious about their own safety while crossing the street.

The students imparted to the administration that they desired something to be accomplished as soon as possible. Rosengarten explained some of the bureaucratic issues involved in negotiating with a city agency, but assured the students that something would be done in the near future.

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