AUSTIN, Texas — The protests taking place on university campuses across the country finally made their way to the University of Texas at Austin.
And the images that followed, a phalanx of Department of Public Safety troopers and other law enforcement officers moving in and violently engaging with the protestors, have been seared in the minds of many.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, a UT graduate herself, says it was a “reckless response” that put students and professors in danger.
And Hinojosa says she expressed this personally to University President Jay Hartzell.
“From what we experienced, from what we know, these were peaceful protestors. And the state cannot take a preemptive act of arresting people, Texans, because they fear they’re going to commit a crime. And that’s exactly what happened yesterday. And the freedoms, the liberties, of our students were violated,” Rep. Hinojosa told us on Inside Texas Politics.
57 people were arrested after the initial protest last week.
But the Travis County Attorney’s Office says most of the charges against them have already been dropped.
And a similar protest the following day was far less tense.
The protestors are calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for UT-Austin to pull all of its investments from companies and weapons manufacturers that do business with Israel.
In a statement, President Hartzell defended his response, arguing that he would not allow the campus to be “occupied.” He also pointed out that just under half of all of those arrested had no affiliation with the university.
But many professors disagree strongly with his characterization, calling the response heavy-handed and pushing for a vote of no confidence against Hartzell.
Rep. Hinojosa says Hartzell expressed no regret during her “very candid” conversation with him.
She says the real issue is whether the university acted in the best interests of students and the university community.
And she says it did not.
“I think, and I know, and I heard directly from students, and the professors and staff, they were scared,” said Hinojosa. “Many times, they felt trapped by officers because they were kind of corralled and surrounded by officers, (and) could not leave to go to their class. This was anything but de-escalation.”
And Rep. Hinojosa says protests have always taken place on the Forty Acres, as any UT-Austin alum, including this writer, can tell you.
Hinojosa herself once participated in a sit-in and “occupied” the UT law school.
So, why does she think this protest was different and turned violent?
“There seems to be this relentless push on the part of the Governor to prove that he is more MAGA than any Republican politician.," Hinojosa said. "We see it play out repeatedly. And my one ask of the University is that it not get caught up in that show.”
Another sentiment she says she also shared with UT-Austin President Hartzell.
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