Two people were arrested at the City College of New York on Thursday in a protest against the closing of a hub for student activism. The Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Student and Community Center was abruptly shut down last weekend after school officials said they needed the space to expand the campus career services office. Student activists say they believe the center was targeted in retaliation for the recent protests against the hiring of former CIA director and military general David Petraeus to teach a course. The chair of the Morales-Shakur Center, Shepard McDaniel, said student activists are being silenced.

Shepard McDaniel: “This is a lot bigger than just the administration here at City College. We know this is coming from the federal government, just in terms of their whole movement, particularly with the Petraeus demonstrations that are going on in this campus, too. And organizing for those took place in that center. So it’s been a target, and at this point that is really trying to silence, you know, student rights in terms of First Amendment, in terms of being able to organize against dissent and so forth.”