As embattled encampments go, the president’s office at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is not exactly Zuccotti Park in the fall of 2011. Rather than a warren of improvised shelters with a loud drum circle, the gracious office has open views through seven arched windows, and the only percussion comes from the tapping of laptop keys.

On May 8, students moved in to protest the school’s decision to charge undergraduate tuition for the first time in 150 years. Since that day, their perch atop Greenwich Village has become an Occupy Wall Street in miniature. A steady stream of students has passed through the office — some staying for just a few hours, others for nearly the whole time — to spread word about the rebellion, posting various satires and subversions to the Web, searching for a better solution to Cooper’s financial crisis, eating catered meals and entertaining visits from well-known activists.

The school’s initial response was forceful: students were told they had an hour to vacate or face dire consequences. Bathrooms and water fountains were bolted and boarded up; armed guards were positioned throughout the building; fire exits were blocked. But within minutes, students said, 100 or so supporters made their way past the guards and into the office, where they locked arms in solidarity. A stack of pizzas somehow materialized, and soon the water fountains, bathrooms and fire exits were liberated.

Since then, the college has taken the opposite approach, essentially allowing students to come and go at will, a liberty that has allowed them to take their exams, shower and even get a comfortable night’s sleep, always leaving behind a group of at least 15 or so to hold down the fort. Cooper’s president himself, Jamshed Bharucha, paid a visit after people attending his presentation in the building’s Great Hall goaded him into addressing the occupiers directly. Everyone talked until well after midnight, then he left and they stayed.
...