Open Letter: Regarding UT Campus Protests
Open Letter: Regarding UT Campus Protests
The Issue
Open Letter: Regarding UT Campus Protests
This Wednesday April 24th 2024 the “Palestine Solidarity Committee”, a recognized student organization at UT Austin, staged a protest on the university campus. This protest has led to dozens of arrests, interrupted student life on campus, and caused great distress to many on campus. As representatives of fellow student organizations and UT students, we condemn these protests and the conduct of the participating organizations, students and especially professors. We appreciate the university administration's response, in which they have shown their respect for the interests of all other students and the university's educational purpose.
A university campus is a place of education. Student activities, including student organizations, are a benefit that enriches the student experience, but they can never undermine the goal of education. What we witnessed this week was a purposeful disregard for the students' and universities' interests by a student organization that views its interests as superior to anyone else’s. This organization is proudly part of a larger national movement of student protests that have “campus occupation” as their explicit goal. Their protest was advertised with the following statement:
“We must recognize the power and strength of the united students, staff, and faculty committed to realizing justice and upholding Palestinian liberation on campus. In the footsteps of our comrades at Rutgers-New Brunswick SJP, Tufts SJP, and Columbia SJP, we will take back our university and demand our administration to divest, for the people of Gaza!”
The activists they admire openly glorify the 1968 Columbia protest where the university dean was held hostage. This week’s protests were not peaceful either, they were deliberate violations of UT policy and state law. A protest with the intent to “occupy” a campus is inherently not peaceful, even if no violence breaks out. However, the protesters did openly encourage students who were misbehaving, shouting, and getting arrested. They were openly combative and wanted to fight with the police and state troopers. They purposefully violated the rules and instructions of the university and then pretended to be victims fighting police oppression. They promoted violent action with their signs for “intifada”. They directly targeted Jewish students with anti-semitic chants, telling them to “go back to Germany.” Most of these students are not interested in education or open discourse, they have no real arguments to offer to any student who does not already align with them. They are deeply unserious, shouting ridiculous chants like “APD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same” to rationalize their behavior on campus.
This is not a matter of free speech, this is disruptive action that undermines the educational purpose of a university campus. This student organization has previously disrupted multiple campus events they did not like, they are actively opposing the free speech of others on campus. All student organizations struggle to share their interests with other students and have to find innovative ways to make their voices heard. But, there should be no tolerance for a student organization that blatantly ignores rules of conduct and views its interests as superior to other students' interests. A student organization that requires police attention every time they organize an event has no place on campus. We are asking the UT Austin administration to keep the “Palestine Solidarity Committee” student organization suspended. Their behavior on campus is unacceptable and was completely predictable from their past actions and involvement in this larger national movement.
Even more objectionable is the participation of UT faculty in these protests. Not only are they participating in campus misconduct, but some of them are acting as protest leaders and thus are undermining their responsibility as educators. We call for all UT faculty and staff involved with these protests to be investigated and to receive sanctions according to UT policy. This fact raises concerns about unfair grading among students who might disagree with their professor's behavior. We hope UT ensures that these students have equal access to the resources for students to combat unfair treatment.
Signed:
The Ayn Rand Club at the University of Austin, Executive Board
Longhorn Students for Israel, Executive Board
28
The Issue
Open Letter: Regarding UT Campus Protests
This Wednesday April 24th 2024 the “Palestine Solidarity Committee”, a recognized student organization at UT Austin, staged a protest on the university campus. This protest has led to dozens of arrests, interrupted student life on campus, and caused great distress to many on campus. As representatives of fellow student organizations and UT students, we condemn these protests and the conduct of the participating organizations, students and especially professors. We appreciate the university administration's response, in which they have shown their respect for the interests of all other students and the university's educational purpose.
A university campus is a place of education. Student activities, including student organizations, are a benefit that enriches the student experience, but they can never undermine the goal of education. What we witnessed this week was a purposeful disregard for the students' and universities' interests by a student organization that views its interests as superior to anyone else’s. This organization is proudly part of a larger national movement of student protests that have “campus occupation” as their explicit goal. Their protest was advertised with the following statement:
“We must recognize the power and strength of the united students, staff, and faculty committed to realizing justice and upholding Palestinian liberation on campus. In the footsteps of our comrades at Rutgers-New Brunswick SJP, Tufts SJP, and Columbia SJP, we will take back our university and demand our administration to divest, for the people of Gaza!”
The activists they admire openly glorify the 1968 Columbia protest where the university dean was held hostage. This week’s protests were not peaceful either, they were deliberate violations of UT policy and state law. A protest with the intent to “occupy” a campus is inherently not peaceful, even if no violence breaks out. However, the protesters did openly encourage students who were misbehaving, shouting, and getting arrested. They were openly combative and wanted to fight with the police and state troopers. They purposefully violated the rules and instructions of the university and then pretended to be victims fighting police oppression. They promoted violent action with their signs for “intifada”. They directly targeted Jewish students with anti-semitic chants, telling them to “go back to Germany.” Most of these students are not interested in education or open discourse, they have no real arguments to offer to any student who does not already align with them. They are deeply unserious, shouting ridiculous chants like “APD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same” to rationalize their behavior on campus.
This is not a matter of free speech, this is disruptive action that undermines the educational purpose of a university campus. This student organization has previously disrupted multiple campus events they did not like, they are actively opposing the free speech of others on campus. All student organizations struggle to share their interests with other students and have to find innovative ways to make their voices heard. But, there should be no tolerance for a student organization that blatantly ignores rules of conduct and views its interests as superior to other students' interests. A student organization that requires police attention every time they organize an event has no place on campus. We are asking the UT Austin administration to keep the “Palestine Solidarity Committee” student organization suspended. Their behavior on campus is unacceptable and was completely predictable from their past actions and involvement in this larger national movement.
Even more objectionable is the participation of UT faculty in these protests. Not only are they participating in campus misconduct, but some of them are acting as protest leaders and thus are undermining their responsibility as educators. We call for all UT faculty and staff involved with these protests to be investigated and to receive sanctions according to UT policy. This fact raises concerns about unfair grading among students who might disagree with their professor's behavior. We hope UT ensures that these students have equal access to the resources for students to combat unfair treatment.
Signed:
The Ayn Rand Club at the University of Austin, Executive Board
Longhorn Students for Israel, Executive Board
28
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Petition created on April 26, 2024