2024 University of Texas at Austin pro-Palestinian campus protests | |
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Part of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses and Israel-Hamas war protests in the United States. | |
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Date | April 24, 2024 – Present |
Location | University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States 30°16′59″N97°43′55″W / 30.283°N 97.732°W |
Methods | |
Lead figures | |
Palestine Solidarity Committee organizers | |
Casualties | |
Arrested | 57 |
Pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) began on April 24, 2024, organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. The protests have included sit-ins, marches, and encampments on campus, calling for the university to divest from companies linked to Israel's actions in Gaza. The demonstrations escalated when university officials, with support from local and state law enforcement, intervened to disperse protestors, leading to multiple arrests and sparking criticism over the suppression of free speech on campus. Despite arrests and clashes with police, the protests have continued, drawing significant attention and raising debates about civil liberties and the role of university administration in managing campus protests.
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests that lasted until the summer. The escalation began on April 18 after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians. Over 3,100 protesters were arrested in the U.S., including faculty members and professors, on over 60 campuses. On May 7, protests spread across Europe with mass arrests in the Netherlands, and five days later, 20 encampments had been established in the United Kingdom and across universities in Australia and Canada.
The different protests' varying demands included severing financial ties with Israel, transparency about financial ties, an end to partnerships with Israeli institutions, and amnesty for protesters. Universities suspended and expelled student protesters, in some cases evicting them from campus housing. Many universities relied on police to forcibly disband encampments and end occupations of buildings, several made agreements with protesters for encampments to be dismantled, [a] and others cut ties with Israeli institutions or companies involved with Israel and its occupied territories. [b] The occupations also resulted in the closure of Columbia University, Cal Poly Humboldt, and the University of Amsterdam; rolling strikes by academic workers on campuses in California, and the cancellation of a few U.S. university graduation ceremonies.Controversy relating to the pro-Palestine movement began at the University of Texas at Austin almost immediately after the October 7 attack on Israel. [13] The University quickly increased security around Jewish organizations in the West Campus neighborhood, where a mural near the Texas Hillel had been vandalized by graffiti, fueling fears of antisemitic activity. [14] The Hillel was further vandalized by graffiti reading "Free Palestine" in March. [15]
On October 12, three men attempted to disrupt an educational event at Welch Hall held by the university's chapter of the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC), having previously sent a threatening message to the organization's Instagram page. [13] The three men verbally attacked the organizers as "terrorists," with one claiming he would be "killing Arabs" in Israel the next week, and were prevented by a PSC organizer from entering the lecture hall where the event was taking place. [16] The men, one of whom claiming he was a member of the Israel Defense Forces, left after about three minutes. [13] [16] An investigation by the University of Texas at Austin Police Department was launched, but did not find that any criminal offense had occurred. [17] The following day, university president Jay Hartzell released a statement decrying "violence" and "vandalism," but did not mention either the incident at Welch Hall nor the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by name. [13] Hartzell's address was criticized by Arab and Muslim students as ignoring their concerns as having "marginalized" Palestinian students. [18] Hartzell released a second statement on October 17 more explicitly condemning both antisemitism and Anti-Arab racism and criticized Hamas. [13]
PSC organized a November 9 walkout of over 1,000 people calling for divestment from weapon manufacturing companies and the release of a statement on Gaza, followed by an educational "takeover" of Speedway, a campus walkway, on November 15. The takeover, cohosted by the Muslim Student Association, mostly consisted of handing out flyers about Palestine. [19] [20] [21] [22] The Texas Hillel criticized the walkout for coinciding with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, and advised members to avoid the event. [21]
Further controversy ensued later in the month with the removal of two teaching assistants, Callie Kennedy and Parham Daghighi, who at the behest of a student had crafted a letter with professor Lauren Gulbas recommending mental health services in relation to the conflict and criticizing the university's silence on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. [23] Soon after, Kennedy and Paghiga received a letter from dean Allen Cole dismissing them as teaching assistants, citing their "unprompted" and "inappropriate" message. [22] Their dismissal prompted further protests. On December 8, students entered Cole's office to read out and hand deliver a list of demands. Cole, who was making funeral arrangements for his father over the phone at the time, did not respond and left the room. [24] [25] [26] [27] [22] Four of the students were sanctioned and threatened with expulsion for two semesters, citing their entrance into a locked building and refusal to allow Cole to leave. [26] [28] A lawyer for the students accused the university of punishing a peaceful protest due to its pro-Palestinian nature. [29] Conversely, university officials characterized the protest as "possible trespassing" and a "disruption." [30] 111 faculty joined in calling for the reinstation of Kennedy and Daghighi in an open letter to Hartzell. [22]
In early 2024, two separate assaults in West Campus escalated activists' demands that UT respond to anti-Palestinianism on campus and divest from weapons manufacturers. [31] 7:00 pm, on February 3, 2024, Zacharia Doar, a Palestinian man from Dallas, was driving through West Campus with two other Palestinian friends, returning from a protest at the Texas state capitol. The three men had a keffiyeh reading "Free Palestine" on a flagpole attached to their truck. [32] [33] At the intersection of Nueces and 26th, passing cyclist Bert James Baker verbally assaulted the men and attempted to remove the flagpole. The men exited the truck to confront Baker, who punched Doar in the shoulders. In the ensuing scuffle, the men knocked Baker down repeatedly, until Baker rose with a knife in his hand and stabbed Doar, who wrestled Baker down and took his knife. [32] [34] Upon his arrest, Baker attributed the attack to his alcoholism. [32] The Council on American-Islamic Relations decried the stabbing as a hate crime, which the Austin Police Department (APD) recommended it be prosecuted as. [35] The recommendation was declined by a grand jury. [34] Although the APD announced an increase in West Campus patrols, a second hate crime occurred on April 5, when a student in Muslim garb was attacked verbally and physically by three men near the Dobie Center. [36] [31] In response, six activist organizations released a statement calling for action from UT. [31]
Responding to concerns over antisemitism and growing activism, Texas governor Greg Abbott, issued an executive order in late March which updated earlier campus speech protections to include a broader definition of antisemitism advocated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. [37] [38]
On April 24, 2024, the Palestinian Solidarity Committee student group at the University of Texas at Austin initiated a walkout and sit-in on the South Mall of the campus to protest the Israel-Hamas War and demand that the university divest from companies profiting from Israel's actions. [39] [40]
In response to the protest and an "occupation" of the university, the university, under the explicit direction of President Hartzell, requested the assistance of the Austin Police Department (APD) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), in coordination with Governor of Texas Greg Abbott, to quell the demonstrations. [41] [42] [43] [44]
At least 50 troops in riot gear were deployed to disperse protesters, with reports of police on horseback and carrying batons aggressively engaging with the demonstrators. [45] This action led to the arrest of 57 protesters and several more detained, including a photojournalist who was reportedly being caught in a scuffle between law enforcement and students for Fox 7 Austin. [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] Fox 7 Austin reposted the viral footage to Twitter, stating their employee was pushed by an officer into another before being thrown to the ground and arrested. [51] [52] Another Texas journalist was knocked down and seen bleeding before being handed off to emergency medical staff by police. The officers ended up leaving after a few hours and about 300 demonstrators moved back to sit and chant near the clock tower. [53]
Following the arrests, a Travis County attorney stated, "It is not the role of the criminal justice system... to assist our governor in efforts to suppress nonviolent and peaceful demonstrations." [54] Charges were dismissed against 46 protesters the next day, leading to their subsequent release. [55] [56] [57] The remaining 11 protesters had their charges dropped on April 26, 2024. [58]
The deployment of police forces and the arrests prompted criticism and raised concerns about free speech on campus, which had been praised by Abbott and the university in prior years. [59] Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that the UT Austin protesters "belong in jail", [60] leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations to respond, "The First Amendment applies to the State of Texas, whether Greg Abbott likes it or not." [61]
On April 25, 2024, more than 1,000 students, faculty, and staff protested outside of the Main Building calling for President Hartzell's resignation, along with the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors circulating a petition for an official motion of no-confidence against him. [62] [63] Within 72 hours, more than 500 professors and instructors, around 13% of all faculty, had already signed the petition, including several department chairs, such as Diana Marculescu, and a dean for the College of Liberal Arts. [64] On April 29, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time, the letter was formally delivered to President Hartzell, with 539 signatures, with the form remaining open for further signatures. [65] An separate group of 165 faculty, including Steve Vladeck, also signed an open letter condemning President Hartzell's actions for quelling free speech and endangering the campus community. [66] [67]
On April 29, 2024, a surprise protest occurred where protestors set up tents on campus and refused to leave when confronted by UTPD. Subsequently, APD and Texas DPS officers arrived at the scene and surrounded the encampment, leading to its dismantling, and the arrest of several protestors. Several protestors then moved to confront the police to block their departure and further, leading to the usage of pepper spray and stun grenades by law enforcement. [68] Additionally, several protestors had to receive medical attention due to the sweltering heat. [69] In total, 79 protestors were arrested, with 78 criminal trespassing charges, one "obstructing a highway" charge, and one "interference of public duties" charge filed. [70] This escalation drew further condemnation, above all for the usage of riot-dispersing tactics. [71] Travis County Attorney Delia Garza further stated that the way that the university handled the protests put a strain on the local criminal justice system, specifically reprimanding the sending of protestors to jail for low-level charges. [72]
A University of Texas at Austin student, Ammer Qaddumi, has filed a federal lawsuit against the university, President Jay Hartzell, and Provost Sharon Wood, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights after he was arrested during a protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. Qaddumi, a senior at UT Austin, claims the university retaliated by threatening suspension and restricting his speech prior to the demonstration. The university has defended its actions, citing rule violations by the protesters, while Qaddumi's lawyer argues that the arrests and subsequent disciplinary actions, including Qaddumi's threatened three-semester suspension, were unjust and suppressed free speech. [73]
The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 51,913 students as of fall 2023, it is also the largest institution in the system.
Gregory Gymnasium is the 4,000-seat current home of the University of Texas Longhorn women's volleyball team, and former home of the Longhorn basketball and swimming teams. The basketball teams moved out in 1977 to the Erwin Center. It also served as the home court for the Austin Aces of World Team Tennis from 2014 to 2015.
Jay Carter Hartzell is an American economist. He has served as the 30th President of the University of Texas at Austin since 2020. He is set to leave this position at the end of the 2024-25 academic year to become the 11th President of Southern Methodist University, effective June 1, 2025. Additionally, he holds the Centennial Chair in Business Education Leadership and the Trammell Crow Regents Professor in Business at UT Austin.
The Israel–Hamas war has sparked protests, demonstrations, and vigils around the world. These events focused on a variety of issues related to the conflict, including demands for a ceasefire, an end to the Israeli blockade and occupation, return of Israeli hostages, protesting war crimes, and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since the war began on 7 October 2023, the death toll has exceeded 40,000.
Protests, including rallies, demonstrations, campaigns, and vigils, relating to the Israel–Hamas war have occurred nationwide across the United States since the conflict's start on October 7, 2023, occurring as part of a broader phenomenon of the Israel–Hamas war protests around the world.
As a result of the Israel–Hamas war, nationwide protests occurred across the UK. These demonstrations occurred as part of a broader movement of war-related protests occurring around the world.
A series of occupation protests by pro-Palestinian students occurred at Columbia University in New York City from April to June 2024, in the context of the broader Israel–Hamas war protests in the United States. The protests began on April 17, 2024, when pro-Palestinian students established an encampment of approximately 50 tents on the university campus, calling it the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, and demanded the university divest from Israel.
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests that lasted until the summer. The escalation began on April 18 after mass arrests at the Columbia University campus occupation, led by anti-Zionist groups, in which protesters demanded the university's disinvestment from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians. Over 3,100 protesters were arrested in the U.S., including faculty members and professors, on over 60 campuses. On May 7, protests spread across Europe with mass arrests in the Netherlands, and five days later, 20 encampments had been established in the United Kingdom and across universities in Australia and Canada.
On April 25, 2024, a student protest began at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to protest the administration's investments in Israel. The occupation, self-titled as the 'Palestine Solidarity Encampment', was a part of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses campaigning for divestment from Israel. The encampment was attacked multiple times by counter protestors, leading to clashes. On May 2, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) raided and dismantled the encampment, arresting the protestors and ending the occupation.
On April 29, 2024, approximately 100 University of Oregon students established a camp on the Eugene campus to support Palestinians in Gaza and demanding action from administrators. As part of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, demonstrators requested for the university to divest from “the state of Israel, Israeli companies, and any weapons or surveillance manufacturing.”
In May 2024, peaceful pro-Palestinian student protesters at the University of Virginia (UVa) demonstrated on the campus. The protesters organized an anti-war occupation on university grounds in support of Palestinian nationalism in the context of the mass death and displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians during the Israel–Hamas war.
On April 24, 2024, an occupation protest began at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California. The protest was a part of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses campaigning for divestment from Israel. USC cancelled their main commencement ceremony over safety concerns about protests. The encampment was cleared by the Los Angeles Police Department on the morning of May 5.
In 2024, an occupation protest was started by students on the University of Washington campus, in Seattle, Washington.
On April 25th, students at University of Pennsylvania began an encampment to protest the ongoing Israel–Hamas war and to call for divestment from Israel. The occupation, named the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment," was part of a series of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. On May 10th, the encampment was raided and protesters were arrested, ending the occupation.
The pro-Palestinian campus occupations at the University of Oxford are ongoing occupation protests in Oxford, England, organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P). The occupations started on 6 May 2024 on the Museum of Natural History's lawn, in front of the Pitt Rivers Museum. Escalating the protests, a second encampment was established on 19 May outside the Radcliffe Camera. Protests have taken elsewhere in the city, including on Wellington Square, where 17 students were arrested after occupying the Vice-Chancellor's office on 23 May. Protesters demands include disclosure of investments and divestment from Israeli companies, among others. The university refused to negotiate with protesters until responding to an email to arrange discussion on 5 June. The protests have been supported by over 500 members of staff, and criticised by the university as intimidating.
A series of protests at Ohio State University by pro-Palestinian demonstrators occurred on-campus in response to the Israel-Palestine conflict beginning on October 7, 2023. A solidarity encampment was constructed on OSU's South Oval on April 25, 2024, during which there were at least 36 arrests, making for the largest en masse arrests on campus since the 1969–1970 Vietnam War protests.
Pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses escalated in April 2024, spreading in the United States and other countries, as part of wider Israel–Hamas war protests. With over 3,100 protesters arrested in the U.S., universities suspended and expelled student protesters, in some cases evicting them from campus housing, and relied on police to forcibly disband occupations.