Fallout from police crackdowns on a at the University of Texas at Austin continued Thursday morning with faculty condemning the response, university leaders defending their actions and students organizing a second round of protests.
At a much less tense rally Thursday on UT-Austin's campus, faculty with the school's chapter of the American Association of University Professors said they planned to hold a vote of no confidence in President Jay Hartzell over his management of the protest the day before and the school's implementation of legislation banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities. AAUP members were seen passing around a letter asking faculty to sign in their support.
Students at the rally reiterated their main demand from the day before, calling on UT-Austin to divest from all weapon manufacturers and companies involved with Israel. They also called for Hartzell's resignation and complete amnesty for those student protesters and members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, which organized Wednesday鈥檚 event, who were arrested.
All told, 57 people 鈥� including one journalist 鈥� were arrested on the school鈥檚 campus on Wednesday, the Travis County Sheriff鈥檚 office said Thursday. The arrests quickly sparked backlash from faculty and students, who called the reaction heavy-handed since the no signs of violence when it started.
Most of the criminal charges against protesters 鈥� 46 鈥� were dropped, according to the Travis County attorney's office.
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Authorities at Wednesday's student walkout ordered protesters to disperse and started making arrests on criminal trespassing charges, a class B misdemeanor. Protesters then regrouped on the university's South Mall and were soon surrounded by law enforcement 鈥� including Texas Department of Public Safety officers 鈥� who formed a perimeter behind a chain-link barrier and pushed protesters onto the sidewalks. A procession of mounted state troopers and officers on foot herded students farther using body shields and their horses, which at times came within grazing distance of protesters.
As footage from the protest went viral on social media 鈥� including 鈥� some Republican leaders cheered the police response, accusing the demonstrators of being "pro-Hamas" or calling the protest an "unlawful assembly."
In a Wednesday evening statement, Hartzell defended the response, saying the university 鈥渉eld firm鈥� and that had 鈥渢ried to deliver on their stated intent to occupy campus.鈥�
鈥淧eaceful protests within are acceptable,鈥� Hartzell said. 鈥淏reaking our rules and policies and disrupting others鈥� ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.鈥�
On Thursday, Hartzell expanded on the decision to shut down the demonstration in a Thursday evening letter to the campus. He said UT believed that protesters were attempting to take over, and disrupt, the campus for an extended period 鈥� a strategy that Hartzell said was modeled after a "national organization's protest playbook."
The Palestine Solidarity Committee has chapters at universities across the country. The Thursday that UT put the group on interim suspension, citing alleged violations of institutional rules.
Hartzell noted that 26 of the 55 individuals arrested Wednesday had no UT affiliation. The Travis County Sheriff's office .
Hartzell鈥檚 explanation was quickly decried by faculty groups as well as students.
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In a Thursday morning statement that was sent to Hartzell, the university's Faculty Council Executive Committee said it was 鈥済ravely alarmed鈥� by the reaction to Wednesday鈥檚 protest and accused Hartzell of inviting state troopers 鈥� many of whom were involved in detaining and corralling protesters 鈥� onto campus.
鈥淎cross the generations, our University has been home to protests of every shape and size, and to a tradition of meeting those protests with understanding and nuance 鈥� not with police batons and body shields,鈥� the faculty group wrote. 鈥淣eedless to say, we don鈥檛 believe that President Hartzell鈥檚 message to the community Wednesday night comes close to providing a justification for the University's conduct. We have also urged him to use more restraint in the future 鈥� and to articulate, as clearly as possible, where he believes the line is between campus protests that can and should be addressed by campus and local law enforcement personnel and protests that warrant calling in armed state troopers.鈥�
The Texas chapter of the AAUP also blasted the university鈥檚 response and called for canceling regular school activities. Some UT-Austin students on campus Thursday said their professors told them classes on Thursday would be optional.
鈥淚nstead of allowing our students to go ahead with their peaceful planned action, our leaders turned our campus into a militarized zone,鈥� the group said. 鈥淣o business as usual tomorrow. No classes. No grading. No assignments.鈥�
The faculty group told colleagues to gather Thursday at noon in front of the UT Tower, where the local Texas State Employees Union had initially planned to rally against recent laws and cuts targeting the school鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The union, however, said it would cede the space to pro-Palestinian protesters who are planning a second day of rallying.
The Texas chapter of AAUP began circulating an open letter to gauge support for a vote of no-confidence in Hartzell at Thursday's rally.
鈥淧resident Hartzell needlessly put students, staff and faculty in danger,鈥� the letter read. 鈥淭he President has shown himself to be unresponsive to urgent faculty, staff, and student concerns. He has violated our trust. The University is no longer a safe and welcoming place for the diverse community of students and scholars who until now have called this campus home.鈥�
The letter demanded that the university not discipline any students for their actions on Wednesday and restore the school's reputation as an institution that respects free speech.
鈥淚f such a vote were to take place, it would be an unprecedented rebuke of university leadership,鈥� said Pauline Strong, president of the UT-Austin chapter of AAUP and a professor of anthropology, said in a statement to the Tribune.
The letter also of the university鈥檚 Division of Campus and Community Engagement, which the faculty who signed the letter said occurred without their consultation and under a 鈥渟hroud of secrecy.鈥�
The Palestine Solidarity Committee vowed to continue protesting at the school Thursday.
鈥淲e join our faculty鈥檚 call to continue to protest in the face of oppression! We call on our community to resist the draconian tactics of intimidation employed by our university and to reaffirm our demands tomorrow,鈥� the group said.
On Thursday afternoon, hundreds of protesters stood on the university's main mall and stared up at the UT Tower shouting 鈥淗artzell out.鈥�
Assistant professor Pavithra Vasudevan said Hartzell had failed faculty and staff multiple times, including when the university announced about 60 layoffs related to the implementation of the state's DEI ban.
鈥淯niversity administrators abandoned students to police forces, their own students,鈥� Vasudevan said. 鈥淭here were people abusing students here yesterday and our administrators were nowhere to be found.鈥�
Throughout the protest, there was one key guideline that organizers wanted attendees to remember: 鈥淲e keep us safe.鈥� Organizers said they had lost faith in the university鈥檚 commitment to students鈥� safety and urged attendees to not speak with police officers or university administrators.
Despite the arrests and mayhem, Vasudevan said Wednesday's protest ultimately was a huge victory for students.
鈥淭hey showed the university that they know how to hold the space [and] they know how to hold it peacefully,鈥� Vasudevan said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e showing the kind of courage and graciousness that university administrators don鈥檛 [have]. They鈥檙e filling in a role of leadership that university administrators are not playing. [The university administration] is failing us. They're failing the public education system and the University of Texas at Austin. The students are helping us bring it back.鈥�
Meanwhile, prominent Republican leaders have continued to call for a crackdown on the demonstrators and faculty who are supporting them.
"Fine. Don鈥檛 do the job UT hired you to do," Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Cypress Republican who is running for Speaker of the Texas House, wrote on social media in response to the Texas AAUP's calls to suspend school activities. "I fully support you all being fired. This is 'unprofessional conduct that adversely affects the university'."
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