AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — As the school semester comes to a close, students at the University of Texas at Austin gathered on campus again on Sunday to show their support for the people of Gaza and to call for an end to Israel's war.
In honor of International Workers’ Day, which fell on May 1, a coalition of pro-Palestinian student groups and labor groups gathered on the south lawn of campus in the shadow of the university's iconic clock tower. There, hundreds of protesters renewed their demands for the institution to divest from the state of Israel, as well as from weapons manufacturers that are supplying its war in Gaza.
Rowan C., a pre-medical student who is graduating later this week, is a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee, one of the groups that organized the rally. She did not wish to give her last name over fears of being doxxed.
“We are out here because there is a genocide happening," Rowan said in an interview.
Ammer Quddumi, another member of the committee who is in his third year at the university studying economics and government, said that despite the university’s hard-line response to past protests, the voices of protesters would not be stifled.
“For them to arrest, beat and mace students who are protesting the killing of children … it is just absurd,” Quddumi said.
Sunday’s demonstration was just the latest in recent weeks at UT's flagship campus in Austin.
Earlier protests have seen a heavy police response. Since a walkout and protest on April 24, more than a hundred protesters have been arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor.
The university has relied on state, city and campus police to prevent what it calls unlawful assemblies. During one confrontation on April 29, police arrested dozens of students who attempted to set up tents on the south lawn.
During that demonstration, Austin police used flashbang grenades and pepper spray against students. While students have held similar protests on other campuses in Texas, none have seen a police response like at UT Austin.
These incidents have led both students and faculty to call for the resignation of UT President Jay Hartzell.
More than 600 faculty members have signed an open letter of no confidence over the protests. In addition to his handling of the protests, both students and faculty have also criticized Hartzell for shutting down the campus diversity office, in compliance with a new state law prohibiting universities from putting funds toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
In an op-ed published on May 2 in the Houston Chronicle, Hartzell defended his response to the protests. He said the organizers had refused to abide by campus rules and threatened to “disrupt the education of more than 52,000 students" even though Hartzell said he tried to meet with them to discuss a path forward. (Student protesters have contested this, saying Hartzell hasn't tried to communicate with them except to shut down protests.)
“It is very troubling that our university deems their brutal crackdown on students as an appropriate response to peaceful demonstration,” said Quddumi. “Hartzell’s op-ed paints it as this was a last resort, that they tried to meet with us prior. This is false. This was their first resort.”
Sunday's rally saw no crackdown, as protesters peacefully gathered for a little over an hour and a half before dissolving. As the university has refused to meet students’ demands, the protests will likely continue, including with a rally at the state capitol later this month.
The police presence, while large, remained at a distance. Also on Sunday, members of the Jewish community rallied blocks away at the Texas Capitol for International Holocaust Remembrance Day and to show support for Jewish students amid nationwide pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses.
University faculty were also present, not only to call for the university’s divestment and an end to the war in Gaza but also to support students.
Flanked by more than a dozen other faculty members, Craig Campbell, an associate professor of anthropology, read a statement to the crowd.
“We are campus workers that support Palestinian liberation,” Campbell told the crowd. “We are inspired by student activism. We stand in solidarity with students.”
Other speakers during the rally included two doctors who have been providing medical aid to Gazans and a 15-year-old boy who, through a video call, thanked the protesters for their support.
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