A committee of professors published a report last month stating University administrators failed to comply with its own institutional rules in its response to the pro-Palestinian protests in April.
The report said the University violated various institutional rules, including students, faculty, staff and the public’s right to express their views in common outdoor areas of campus with or without notifying the University when it enabled excessive force to shut down the protest.
The Committee of Counsel on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, chaired by LBJ School professor James Galbraith, laid out six recommendations the University should follow in the fallout from the protests and subsequent arrests, including dropping disciplinary action against students and establishing an “on-campus process for non-violent conflict resolution to address peaceful protest.” Galbraith said it is important for the administration to take the lead in following institutional rules.
“This was exceptional in that the University chose to ban the protests on April 24 before it happened,” Galbraith said. “A reasonable person would believe that the protests were banned specifically because of the viewpoint of the protesters. … That contravenes one of the core rules, which is that the University will not discriminate on the basis of views being expressed.”
The April 24 protest planned to occupy the lawn while listening to guest speakers, hosting teach-ins and participating in an art workshop in solidarity with other universities experiencing arrests for their own pro-Palestine protests. The April 29 protest consisted of an encampment on the lawn.
University spokesperson Mike Rosen denied the committee’s findings, stating the University followed its policies and the law.
“UT Austin will continue to support the Constitutional rights to free speech of all individuals on our campus and will also enforce our rules while providing due process and holding students, faculty, staff and visitors accountable,” Rosen said in a statement.
Mia Cisco, a health promotion and behavioral science senior, was arrested at the April 24 protest. Cisco said she already felt the University broke their own policies during their response to the protests, and that she is grateful for the committee’s support.
“It’s amazing to see (the committee) take such a stance,” Cisco said. “It gives me faith in the University again … because a lot of us were sitting on it and were aware of the ways that the University violated these rules, and it felt like we were kind of voiceless.”
Over the summer, the University sent out letters to the arrested protesters regarding their disciplinary process, which included various types of suspensions, probations and a quiz on University policies.
“I think existing in that gray area is what led us to be able to get arrested,” Cisco said. “I would like to make sure that campus police is not something that they just call in on a whim.”
