Anti-protest skit in NSO program removed following 'student power' demonstration

Last Tuesday, demonstrators affiliated with Build Up Resistance Now (B.U.R.N.) took to the Busch Student Center during New Student Orientation (NSO) with chants, noisemakers and a sign reading "Rutgers can't stop student power" in response to a protest-related exercise introduced during this year's orientation programming.

The exercise laid out a simulated situation in which individuals did not agree as to whether the University should invest in more student centers or housing spaces, according to the NSO program script. Students were then asked to choose between "escalating with chants" or "setting up a negotiation table" to navigate the dispute.

Should students choose the former, orientation leaders read through a script explaining that students will see "if this energy can lead to a resolution through more chanting." It closes off by encouraging students to learn more about their rights to protest and free speech on campus.

Should students choose the latter, the script guides students through locations for the negotiation table. The script also notes that the purpose of the exercise is not to curtail the importance of ongoing global social issues and their reverberations on marginalized groups.

According to a press release detailing the event, one of the protestors said, "Students are encouraged to compromise, but how can there be a 'compromise' over something like a genocide? This isn't about apartments and student centers. We don't want to have a debate about whether or not Rutgers should be involved in dropping bombs on the Gaza Strip. We want it to stop completely."

The demonstration, which lasted less than five minutes, came to an end after demonstrators were instructed to leave the space, according to a statement from a University spokesperson. The matter is presently being treated as an infringement of the school's guidelines regarding time, place and manner of campus demonstrations.

On the same day, incoming students who were involved in the NSO program received an email from program leaders issuing an apology for the event, which was referred to as "anti-Semitic rhetoric which is abhorrent and has no place on our campus" in the message. The email notes that the demonstration is currently under investigation.

Three days after the demonstration, B.U.R.N. shared a post on their Instagram page indicating that the protest-related exercise had not been re-enacted due to their demonstration.

"Rutgers canceled their mock 'protest skit' in response to our demonstration earlier this week," the post's caption read. "They say that our protest violated school policy, but our protest worked. Why does Rutgers ban the exact types of protest that are actually proven to succeed?"