New York University students campaign for transparency, 2007-2009

In 2007, a group of New York University (NYU) students called Students Creating Radical Change decided to campaign for disclosure and transparency. They started forming the group Take Back NYU! (TBNYU) and started in October with an event called "What is NYU Hiding?" They followed it shortly with another event, called "What is NYU Hiding in Abu Dhabi?"

The students spent the 2007-2008 school year building support for their efforts, and collaborated with a number of other student groups to write Take Back NYU!'s demands for the NYU administration. They had three: budget disclosure, endowment disclosure, and the placing of a student on NYU's Board of Trustees.

TBNYU spent the summer gathering more support and endorsements from student groups, and presented their demands to the NYU administration on September 2, 2008. They asked that the administration give a reply within one month, but they never received a response. Around the same time, TBNYU helped produce the "NYU Disorientation Guide 2008" - a satirical look at the campus' policies. Later in the school year, TBNYU hosted another event, called "Have Your School and Eat It Too: an Edible Exploration to Imagine our Ideal University".

On February 18, 2009, TBNYU staged its most direct action - a nonviolent occupation of the Kimmel Student Center. Shortly before 10:00 PM, approximately 70 students gathered in the third floor cafeteria of the student center and barricaded themselves inside with tables and chairs, chanting their list of demands (which had expanded since TBNYU had first presented them to the administration).

The University stated that the students would be allowed to occupy the building for the night, and went so far as to allow the protesters access to restrooms. The University, however, was very clear that the protesters would not be welcome to stay in the building for more than one night.

TBNYU gained quite a bit of support. Students rallied outside the building in support of their efforts, and a number of students pushed their way through the police to get inside the building and join the occupation. Some female students in the rally of support disrobed to represent their demands of administration transparency. TBNYU also gained the attention and support of Councilman Charles Barron, who spoke at the support rally.

However, despite all of the growth of support, the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful. Police forces entered the cafeteria on February 20 and forced the occupiers to leave. 18 of the protesters were suspended from the school and faced disciplinary review. It was reported that these 18 individuals were the negotiators and leaders of the occupation, and supporters of TBNYU claimed that the NYU administration underhandedly told the students that they would be willing to meet for negotiations. According to some of the members of TBNYU, the leaders then left the occupation to go to an office where they were then told that the administration refused to hold any and that they were all suspended.

Following the end of the occupation, TBNYU announced its intent to continue with the campaign, however, no further actions were actually carried out by the group.