TEXAS Collision
Jay Hartzell, leader of the University of Texas at Austin, received a similar reaction from university on Friday, two days after he and Republican Governor Greg Abbott called in officers to scuttle a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Charges against the majority of the activists were dropped the following morning despite numerous arrests.
Almost 200 university faculty members wrote a letter dated April 25 to express their disapproval of Hartzell’s actions when lots of officers riding riot gear and removing the demonstrations from their vehicles on horseback.
Hartzell claimed in a statement that he made the decision based on the fact that protest organizers intended to” seriously disrupt” the school for a while.
This week, a number of clashes broke out between protesters and authorities in Texas, including those that were summoned by school leaders, who claimed encampments pose a risk to students ‘ safety, subject Jews to antisemitism and harassment, and that they also occasionally cause students to protest and be threatened by police.
Civil rights organizations have criticized the detention and urged officials to uphold free speech rights. The activists behind the demonstrations claim their goal is to put pressure on schools to stop working with those who support Israeli military installations in Gaza, and that they are trying to stop any hostility from happening. They also point to outsiders who want to sabotage the activity.
The University of Southern California ( USC ) and Atlanta’s Emory University are both now a part of the student protest movement, but this week almost daily, the national spotlight has been shifting to new campuses. This week, this is the epicenter of the student protest movement. USC canceled its primary May 10 graduation ceremony this week, citing recent security requirements that would have caused increased delays to crowd control.