The City College of New York has suspended two students indefinitely, after they were allegedly accused of trying to incite a riot in a protest against the shutdown of a community center, DNAInfo reported.
Senior Khalil Vasquez, 22, and sophomore Tafadar Sourov, 19 - told DNAInfo they were stopped by campus police and the NYPD Monday when they tried to go to class, and were told they were no longer allowed on campus.
The two were protesting the closure of the Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Student and Community Center, located in the North Academic Center at City College in Harlem, on Thursday the publication reported.
The protest turned rowdy with campus police using pepper spray and arresting a college alumnus on charges of disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a minor. School officials said protestors were trying to push their way into the building, causing an unsafe situation.
"What this is really about is the college trying to squash political dissent," Vasquez, who was due to graduate in the spring, told DNAInfo.
Sourov also said he thought City College officials were trying to halt the effort to save the student center.
"This is them targeting the leaders and trying to kill the drive to save the Morales/Shakur Center," he told DNAInfo.
Sourov said he and Vasquez plan to fight the administrative charges. According to DNAInfo, protests against the closure continued Monday, as students demonstrated outside the administration building at City College and marched through Hamilton Heights to Broadway.
City College officials reclaimed the Morales/Shakur Center on Oct. 20, just before mid-term exams. They intend on using the space to expand the City College Careers and Professional Development Institute.
Deidra W. Hill, City College's vice president for communications and marketing, declined to comment about the suspensions.
"Information on student disciplinary actions is confidential," Hill told DNAInfo.
