AUSTIN, Texas — Several students at the University of Texas at Austin could face disciplinary action for what they described as a "peaceful protest."
The students said their Dec. 8, 2023, protest was to deliver a list of demands to UT's School of Social Work Dean Allan Cole after two teaching assistants were removed for a message about the Israel-Hamas conflict. However, the students said UT's actions following the protest were a violation of their freedom of speech.
"To place themselves as an institution that is attempting to make a difference but shut down anything that they don't align or agree with, which is kind of egregious to me," said Valkyrie Church, who is one of the four students facing disciplinary action. "It's a moral obligation to call out injustice when you need to intervene and to say what is right and what is wrong."
The four students claim the dean refused to listen to them, and that Cole called the UT Police Department to initiate an investigation. They also claim the school waited more than a month to inform them of the investigation while demanding the students speak to investigators.
However, according to a UT spokesperson, the students omitted information about how the events transpired stating that the students walked into the dean's office and did not permit him from leaving.
In a letter provided to KVUE, the university stated that the students, "were involved in an incident that may violate University policy." It goes on to list out the possible violations such as:
- Disruptive conduct
- Unauthorized entry into the school of social work building
- Failure to comply
- Any behavior that may violate any federal, state or local law regulation, or ordinance
The letter led the students to seek legal representation. Their attorney, George Lobb, remained firm that the students did not violate university policy.
"My clients have an absolute First Amendment right to deliver the content that they delivered. It was not threatening, it was not obscene, and the manner in which it was delivered was appropriate," Lobb said. "The termination of the teachers was wrong. What my clients did was correct. Even if you don't agree with the content, you don't get to punish people for that."
Lobb said a meeting among himself, the students and UT officials took place at the end of January. A hearing is set to take place but has yet to be scheduled.
UT officials released a statement to KVUE in December that the teaching assistants were removed because they used a platform meant for coursework to send a personal political message. The TAs reportedly used a student portal to offer mental health resources for anyone troubled by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
But regarding the Dec. 8 demonstration, UT officials said that the students "crossed the line of acceptable behavior and violated University rules multiple times." The statement also said, "We will protect speech, but we will not tolerate harassment, disruption, and dishonesty."
On Feb. 6, a UT spokesperson said the matter remains under investigation and federal privacy laws limit what the university can publicly disclose. However, UT said the events that occurred are "indisputable, are captured in a police report, and are further documented in video the protesters shot during the confrontation, which they have chosen not to release." UT said it will continue to "correct the record distorted by an ongoing, coordinated disinformation campaign," adding the following official statement:
"Organizing a large group of protesters to enter a locked building, barge into a dean’s private office, intentionally cause a disruption, and delay his ability to exit is unacceptable. These actions constitute a prohibited disruption. Regardless of how protesters justify those activities after the fact, it does not change the fact that their conduct violated our rules and is not protected by the First Amendment.
Protests, speech, and expressive conduct must meet the standards in University rules. Protestors are not permitted to disrupt University operations. We will protect speech. At the same time, we will not tolerate harassment and disruption to our operations. The protesters crossed the line of acceptable behavior during their activities inside our University buildings.”