UT Austin demonstrators protest against Israel-Hamas war again Sunday

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Sunday, more than a dozen University of Texas at Austin faculty members stood in solidarity with student protestors against the Israel-Hamas war. In chants, UT demonstrators are demanding that the school divest from weapons manufacturing companies selling arms to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and that UT president Jay Hartzell resign.

In a tweet during the demonstration, Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the demands, saying, “This will never happen. The only thing that will happen is that the University and the State will use all law-enforcement tools to quickly terminate illegal protests taking place on campus that clearly violate the laws of the state of Texas and policies of the university.”

Some for, others against how UT President Hartzell handled campus protests

Sunday’s protest is the latest in more than a week of demonstrations. Despite a heavy police presence, and unlike the previous week, state and university law enforcement did not arrest any demonstrators on Sunday.

Between April 24 and April 29, officers arrested more than 100 protestors for criminal trespassing and other university rule violations. While most of those charges have been dropped by prosecutors, a Fox 7 Austin photojournalist who was arrested while live-streaming the demonstrations is still facing misdemeanor assault and interference charges.

“What we’re being arrested for across this country is the same thing we want to shine a light on what is happening in Gaza,” UT junior Adam said. “We are seeing right now in live time the bombing of Rafah.”

The campus demonstrations and subsequent reactions from the university leadership have ignited diverse opinions, sparking a heated debate about the boundaries of free speech on college campuses and the role of university leadership in managing protests.

“I think it’s been traumatic,” UT Austin Associate Professor Roger Reeves said about the arrests of some of his students. “What’s difficult is this university purports a desire for free speech, but when you see that free speech repressed … it’s difficult.”

State of Texas: Campus protest demands not likely to be met

Critics of the campus demonstrations claim some protestors are engaging in antisemitic behavior. The U.S. House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday, which, if passed, would codify the definition of antisemitism established by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances. Opponents of the bill say it violates protesters’ constitutional rights and are concerned that criticism of the Israeli government could be considered antisemitic.

On Sunday, another group of protestors marched against anti-semitism blocks away from student demonstrators on UT’s south lawn.

“We are out here today because we feel very strongly about supporting the state of Israel, and we feel strongly about supporting the Jewish students at UT,” Barbara Altman said.

Earlier this week, more than 600 UT faculty members signed a letter of no-confidence in Hartzell after he requested the Texas Department of Public Safety to come on campus and assist the university’s police department. Meanwhile, 36 UT alumni — including former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — signed a letter thanking Hartzell for “maintaining a safe environment” amid what they described as “disruptive demonstrations.”

79 arrested on UT campus during Monday protest, sheriff’s office says

Last week, Hartzell published an opinion piece in the Houston Chronicle in which he answered criticism of Texas DPS officers being on campus during protests.

“This is a fair question with a clear answer: They were protecting the safety of our campus community by assisting the University of Texas Police Department,” he wrote. “Our police department is outstanding, but its size is limited.”

Adam believes the police presence is meant to intimidate student protestors.

“This is intentionally done by the university, by people like Jay Hartzell, our president, by people like Greg Abbott, to send a message to students, staff, and faculty at UT that our speech is not protected on this campus. We are not safe unless we are saying what they want us to say,” Adam said.

Jala Washington, Kevin Baskar, Morganne Bailey, and Andy Way contributed to this report.

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