Hunter College protesters descend on Met Gala, several arrests made. Here's the latest
NEW YORK -- Protesters supporting Palestinians departed Hunter College on Monday and made their way toward the Met Gala in New York City. Police said 27 people were arrested, mostly for disorderly conduct.
Hunter College is located on Manhattan's Upper East Side, approximately 12 blocks south of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Several hundred people started to gather at Hunter around 4:30 p.m. and then began the trek north to the museum, where many celebrities and fans were in attendance for fashion's biggest night of the year.
According to CBS New York's Jennifer Bisram, the protesters initially stopped at 80th Street and Madison Avenue, where they were chanting "shut it down" and blocking the intersection. The group tried to get closer to the museum through Central Park, but several access points were shut down due to the Met Gala, Chopper 2's Dan Rice reported.
Members of the NYPD were on the scene, and police said earlier they were prepared for any demonstrations outside the gala.
The protesters at times clashed with officers and even pro-Israel supporters on Madison Avenue and in Central Park, just outside of the massive police perimeter.
During the demonstrations, a historical memorial for soldiers in Central Park was vandalized and an American flag was burned, as protestors marched with flares trying to disrupt the Met Gala.
The protest eventually dissipated near Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza about a mile away.
Hunter College goes fully remote
Hunter College made the announcement to go fully remote earlier Monday due to the ongoing protests.
Because the demonstrations were designed to be on the move, the school's administrators said they were not sure how many protesters would gather outside Hunter and for how long.
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Police officers put barricades in place outside the college's entrance on East 68th Street and Lexington Avenue. When the fully remote approach took effect at 3 p.m., students exited the campus in a large wave because a decision was made to cancel late afternoon and evening classes.
The school 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 Hunter students confused by switch to fully remote learning
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."
