UT Austin halts leftist students from handing divestment demand letter to president
Two students at the University of Texas at Austin could face disciplinary action after attempting to hand-deliver an anti-Israel divestment letter to the president of the school.
Two members of Austin Students for a Democratic Society tried to bring the letter directly to President Jay Hartzell’s office, but were told not to enter the building by a university official.
Two students at the University of Texas at Austin could face disciplinary action after attempting to hand-deliver an anti-Israel divestment letter to the president of the school.
On Oct. 30, two members of Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) tried to bring a letter to school President Jay Hartzell’s office, but were told not to enter the building by a university official, as noted by Reporting Texas.
“If you opt to go in, just know that we have discussed this previously — we talked with you yesterday, we spoke with you on the phone this morning — and you said you would agree to these terms,” Sgt. Joe LoBrutto, director of UT’s event and readiness response team, reportedly said to the two individuals.
Nonetheless, the student activists disobeyed orders and entered the building.
“We should have every right to go up and knock on that door and try to express our freedom of speech,” Papari later remarked. “This is both a war on students and a war on journalists.”
Vice President for University Communications Mike Rosen told local media, however, that the First Amendment has limitations.
“UT Austin supports the First Amendment rights of all members of our community to demonstrate and express their views while on our campus as long as they comply with our Institutional Rules,” Rosen explained. “Free speech is not a free for all. Free speech on our campus, including protests, is guided by time, place and manner restrictions.”
In July, the UT Austin administration decided to offer probation to some of the pro-Palestine student activists who were arrested at an encampment that was set up at the university’s campus earlier this year.
Specifically, the school administration offered “deferred suspension” to three students, requiring them to pass an exam on the university’s speech policies.
In total, 130 individuals were arrested in April in connection to anti-Israel protests at UT Austin.
In August, a faculty committee at the school urged the administration to “use patience” with pro-Palestine student demonstrators.
The administration, by contrast, stated that students were “explicitly seeking to disrupt university operations nationwide and create campus encampments,” and “deliberately provoked officers, stated their intent not to comply, and physically and verbally harassed our staff.”
“Officers were headbutted, spit on, and verbally assaulted by protesters,” the administration noted. “Some protesters attempted to startle a DPS horse, and others threw horse excrement at officers. Police car tires were slashed.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Texas at Austin for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
