About 50 students and community members gathered outside the UT Systems building during the Board of Regents quarterly meeting to protest the system’s investments in weapons manufacturers supplying Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
Austin Students for a Democratic Society organized the protest with a coalition of different organizations.
Arshia Papari, a student organizer, was the only scheduled speaker to discuss the items on the agenda. He said he chose not to speak during the meeting as changes in the agenda did not allow him to speak about divestment without possible disciplinary action.
Paul Corliss, associate vice chancellor of External Relations and Communications for the Board of Regents, said the agenda was published last week on the Secretary of State’s website, and no changes were made. The agenda never included a specific item related to the UT System divesting from weapons manufacturers.
Corliss said Papari was called to speak in the meeting but was not in the building. Instead, he and the demonstrators were stationed outside chanting towards the building in a noise demonstration.
The Board of Regents set aside 65 seats for the demonstrators to enter the meeting and stay as long as they did not disrupt the meeting, according to a Board of Regents employee. The board and its employees did not explicitly state Papari and the demonstrators would face disciplinary action if they discussed divestment in the meeting.
“Our demands are emboldened by the victorious triumphs against UT’s attempts at repressing pro-Palestine support and a historic struggle against oppression,” Papari said in a speech outside of the building.
