Pro-Palestine protesters are angry that a university allowed a TV show to film a fake climate change camp on campus after shutting down a real camp.
FBI: Most Wanted built a realistic tent city at Queen’s College at the City University of New York for a two-day filming on Monday and Tuesday.
With tents, deliberately misspelled “denile is not a policy” signs, and makeshift furniture, the set looked eerily similar to those seen on college campuses this year.
In the nearby Powdermaker Hall, figurative windows were installed to resemble an explosion, as bloodied and dirty extras stumbled over fake rubble.
FBI: Most Wanted built a realistic tent city at Queen’s College at the City University of New York for a two-day filming on Monday and Tuesday
With tents, deliberately misspelled “denile is not a policy” signs and makeshift furniture, the set looked eerily similar to those seen on college campuses this year.
The protesters saw the production as a way to capitalize on their movement and called it a “copaganda camp.”
“Not only are they preventing students from fighting genocide on their campus, they are also profiting from mocking them. No encampments allowed unless you are a film crew,” one said.
Another added: ‘FBI: Most Wanted films fake encampment at Queens College to demonize student intifada and create consent for genocide in Palestine.’
While the fake camps were intended as a protest against climate change and had nothing to do with Israel’s military activities in Gaza.
A small group of protesters showed up around 5:30 p.m. Monday to intimidate the cast and crew, chanting “Queens College, shame on you” and holding signs
The university said there was “no disruption to production”
CUNY deployed police to clear out actual camps in April and May, leading to clashes between protesters and officers on campus.
The April raid arrested 173 protesters, many of whom are still being prosecuted. This is another reason why protest groups felt the TV footage was inappropriate.
At around 5:30pm on Monday, a small group of protesters showed up to intimidate the cast and crew, chanting ‘Queens College, shame on you’ and holding signs.
One of the groups, CUNY for Palestine, claimed the demonstration forced an early end to filming, but filming had already wrapped by noon on Tuesday.
The university said there was “no disruption to production whatsoever.”
The TV show set the upcoming episode at a faction-Kincaid College and students were warned in advance of the filming
The protesters saw the production as a way to profit from their movement and called it a ‘copaganda camp’
The TV show set the upcoming episode at the independent Kincaid College and students were warned in advance of the filming.
An email explained that some actors would be dressed as police officers, complete with props and fake emergency vehicles parked around campus.
The action includes a chase and arrest scene and a stuntman falling from a roof.
“The Quad will be set up with tents, and fireworks and smoke effects will be used,” it warned.