Police arrested two Caucasian men for allegedly throwing bottles and yelling racial slurs at a black UT student between Leon and West 25th Streets.
According to an arrest affidavit, the victim called the police after the incident on Feb. 20 and said three white males threw bottles and yelled derogatory racial remarks at him.
The suspects, Tucker Sauer, 21 and Lucas Henderson, 20, were charged with public intoxication and deadly conduct after police arrived at the scene. Police investigated the situation by talking with the victim, suspects and two witnesses, but were unable to locate the third suspect.
Police found evidence of broken bottles in the street near the suspects’ apartment.
While police did not confirm whether the suspects were UT students, Sauer is listed as a sociology junior in the University’s online directory.
According to online jail records, Sauer and Henderson were released from Travis County Jail as of Feb. 24 on bond.
Instances of racism resulting in violence are not new to West Campus, according to past reports of attacks in the area driven by racism. In 2012 and 2013, multiple reports of white students targeting minority students with bleach-filled balloons were filed.
According to the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, an investigation resulted in no evidence of bleach being used in the balloons. However, students said they felt like they were being targeted because of their race.
Bryan Davis, a former UT student who was hit with a water balloon in West Campus, said in a 2013 Daily Texan article that he believes the incident, regardless of what the balloon was filled with, was symbolic of racial exclusion on campus.
Emiliano Casiano Jr., West Campus resident and theatre and dance senior, said he has faced discrimination in the form of verbal attacks while living in the area, and is not surprised by last week’s incident.
“West Campus is exclusively for students with money, and in America, that means white students,” Casiano said. “Any instance of a person of color moving into the area is seen as not only an intrusion and disruption of the status quo, it’s seen as a disturbance and a danger.”
