(Courtesy Free Cooper Union)
Cooper Union wants it to be known that you can’t just unleash 2,100 ping-pong balls on a four-story staircase and get away with it. In a campus-wide e-mail forwarded to B+B, Alan Wolf, the school’s safety coordinator, says he wants the ping-pong protesters to be held accountable. Here’s the full statement, in case you were about to bulk order some Slinkies.
On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of ping pong balls were released from the top of the Grand Stair at 41 Cooper Square during normal business hours. Video footage of the incident shows that the staircase was in use at the time and that the release of the balls was intentional.
This incident created a risk of serious injury to those on the stairwell, those about to enter it, and to individuals on the first floor near the guard’s station. Actions like these, which put the welfare and safety of members of the Cooper community at risk cannot, and will not, be tolerated.
Video footage of the incident is currently being reviewed. I will recommend that the individuals responsible for this action be held accountable.
I wish to acknowledge my appreciation of the faculty member and students who promptly gathered the balls and delivered them to the Buildings and Grounds office before anyone was injured.
Incidents such as this one, which are relatively new to The Cooper Union, strongly motivate the adoption of a revised Code of Conduct that can better protect members of the Cooper Community from physical harm, cyber-bullying, and other forms of harassment.
Prof. Alan Wolf, Campus-wide Safety Coordinator
As for Free Cooper Union, its response is rather ballsy: “We’re making a call for more ping-pong balls to 34 Ave A, Fl. 3,” said a representative of the group.
Reporting by Patrick Hogan
Correction: This post was updated after a Cooper Union rep who yesterday said there were 1,500 balls said today that the correct number was actually 2,100.