NEW YORK — Hunter College went fully remote Monday due to the ongoing protests in support of Palestinians.Â
Because the protests are designed to be on the move, the school’s administrators said they were not sure how many demonstrators would gather outside Hunter and for how long.Â
Monday afternoon, there were around 200 demonstrators at the protest, which started to move north toward the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at around 6 p.m.
The NYPD said it is prepared for any demonstrations outside the Met Gala.
Earlier, police officers put barricades in place outside Hunter College’s entrance on East 68th Street and Lexington Avenue. Starting at 3 p.m. Monday, when the fully remote approach took effect, students exited the campus in a large wave because a decision was made to cancel late afternoon and evening classes.
Hunter College said all security measures that are being taken are out of an abundance of caution. Campus law enforcement told CBS New York it’s better to be prepared with too much rather than too little.
Some students confused by switch to fully remote learning Â
Students said they learned of the change to online learning by email and text. Some said the announcement took them by surprise.
“I didn’t even know that the protest was going to be happening today,” sophomore Hannah Miller said. “So this is my last class for the day.”
“I have a class at 6 p.m. and they basically canceled it and I have an exam next week, so it’s preparation for exam,” freshman Vilen Kim said. “I spend my time, I spend my money doing everything to get here and pay for the tuition and everything and they just canceled my class for no reason.”
