Austin, TX – On Monday, April 28, around 1 p.m., University of Texas at Austin students and community members gathered on the UT South Lawn to set up a Popular University encampment. A group of around 40 people was quickly joined by hundreds more supporting students, as booming chants of, “Free free Palestine,” echoed throughout UT’s South Mall.

Shortly after the encampment went up, UT police, Austin police and Texas State Troopers wearing riot gear arrived, assaulted and arrested at least 80 protesters. During the attack on the encampment, police used pepper spray and flash bangs on students, threw a disabled person out of a wheelchair, and dragged students on the ground by their legs.

Despite the police violence, students bravely fought back, and the crowd surrounded the police in an effort to stop them from making more arrests. After hours of heated struggle, the massive crowd eventually marched down 22nd Street, pushing the police to retreat off the street.

Hundreds more Austinites arrived to campus to support the now torn-down student encampment, many holding umbrellas to block pepper spray and bringing supplies like food, water and first aid equipment. 

As soon as protesters were hauled to Travis County Jail, over 50 people arrived with drums and megaphones out front to demand the release of all those arrested. Police purposely delayed booking and processing the arrestees, and they are still holding at least 40 of the protesters in jail as of 5:30 a.m. this morning, May 1. Students and community have continued to rally outside the jail for over 36 hours and counting in spite of this repression.

Jules Lattimore, a Students for a Democratic Society member who was at the jail support rally said, “We will not stop fighting, no matter what UT administration or Texas does. We demand divestment, we demand the coward President Jay Hartzell resigns, we demand everyone jailed is immediately freed, and we demand Greg Abbott’s police thugs off our campus. When we fight, we win!”

#AustinTX #StudentMovement #SDS #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #Occupy4Gaza

The City of Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) is hosting an emergency preparedness training class. The course is developed in partnership with Austin Fire Department Wildfire Division, Ascension Seton, and Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA).

• Event: Ready Together: Basic Emergency Preparedness for You, Your Family & Your Neighborhood (Classroom Training)
• Time: Thursday, May 9, 2024, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
• Location: Spicewood Springs Branch Library, 8637 Spicewood Springs, Austin, TX 78759

 
Attendees must register for the class to attend. Click here to reserve a spot. Pizza and beverages will be provided. Kindly RSVP for an accurate headcount.

This free, 2-hour course is open to community members, regardless of preparedness knowledge. The course will provide an introduction from the experts on how to practice the four steps of emergency preparedness: make a plan, build a kit, know your neighbors, and stay informed. Attendees will gain practical knowledge on how to prepare their home, family, and community for a variety of hazards.

This is the third time the class has been offered. While HSEM takes an all-hazards training approach, this installment will focus on wildfire preparedness. May is Wildfire Safety Month. Central Texas is heading into peak season for wildfire risk and now is the time to prepare yourself and your family.

Participants who complete the course will receive a free emergency preparedness starter kit and NOAA weather radio. Interpreters will be available on-site in Spanish and American Sign Language. Other languages can be requested during registration.

Austin HSEM has two remaining Ready Together course dates scheduled quarterly throughout 2024. Future training dates and more information on how to prepare can be found at www.ReadyCentralTexas.org.

Over half of the people arrested Monday at a University of Texas at Austin pro-Palestinian demonstration had no campus ties, according to UT and campus officials.

A university statement Tuesday stated 79 people were arrested, and 45 of them had “no affiliation with UT Austin.” It’s not clear what charges they’re facing.

“These numbers validate our concern that much of the disruption on campus over the past week has been orchestrated by people from outside the University, including groups with ties to escalating protests at other universities around the country,” a statement noted.

Following a nationwide trend of protests on college campuses, two large demonstrations have taken place on UT Austin’s campus in the last week, one Monday and another April 24, as people have rallied to protest the war in Gaza and demand the university system divest from weapon manufacturers. Concerns have been raised among free-speech advocates as dozens of state troopers have made arrests on campus.

On Monday, demonstrators began setting up an encampment on the South Lawn before campus police issued an order to disperse.

Officials say weapons, including guns, buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel-enforced wood planks, mallets and chains, have been confiscated from protesters. Officials allege that staff have been physically assaulted and threatened, and “police have been headbutted and hit with horse excrement, while their police cars have had tires slashed with knives.”

Officials believe these actions are orchestrated and led by people outside the university. They noted in the statement they will continue “to safeguard the free speech and assembly rights of everyone on our campus, while we protect our university and students who are preparing for their final exams.”

Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System’s Board of Regents, said in his own statement Wednesday that “any attempt to shut down or disrupt UT operations will not be tolerated.” He said free speech is violated when it includes threats to campus safety and security “or refusal to comply with institutional policies and laws.”

Eltife said he has been working with UT Austin President Jay Hartzell and that officials will not “acquiesce” on decisions to protect the campus community. The chairman added that officials will continue to call upon the state’s Department of Public Safety when needed.

Gov. Greg Abbott posted on social media last week that “students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.” The governor issued an executive order in March aimed at fighting what his office called an increase in antisemitism at Texas’ colleges and universities.

A post from DPS last week noted state troopers responded to the campus April 24 at the request of Abbott. Those arrested last week faced charges of criminal trespassing, but Travis County prosecutors declined the charges. The Palestine Solidarity Committee was suspended for allegedly violating university rules, according to a UT spokesperson.

Nationwide demonstrations have taken place since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostage. In the months that have followed, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing over 34,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in West Bank. The Dallas Morning News cannot independently verify these numbers.

Last week, about 100 students at UT Dallas occupied the administration building for several hours also calling for officials to pull university investments from companies supplying weapons to the conflict in Gaza.