Earlier today, a number of protestors, many believed to be non-UT affiliated individuals, erected a tent encampment on the South Lawn, with a barricade enclosure of tables secured by metal chains, and strategically placed tools, tents, and rocks. When approached, protestors escalated by becoming physically and verbally combative with Dean of Students’ staff. In response, the University of Texas took swift action to preserve a safe, conducive learning environment for our 53,000 students as they prepare for final exams.

UT Austin requested backup assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety to protect the safety of the campus community and enforce our Institutional Rules, such as the rule that prohibits encampments on campus. Because of the encampments and other violations of the University’s Institutional Rules related to protests, protestors were told repeatedly to disperse. When they refused to disperse, some arrests were made for trespassing. Others were arrested for disorderly conduct.

Protests are allowed at the University of Texas. Since October and prior to April 24, no fewer than 13 pro-Palestinian free speech events were held on the UT campus, and four more demonstrations have been held since Thursday, largely without incident. The University strongly supports the free speech and assembly rights of our community, and we want students and others on campus to know that protests on campus are fully permissible, provided that they do not violate Institutional Rules or threaten the safety of our campus community.

Amidst heightened tensions, University of Texas at Austin Police took action on Monday (April 29), issuing a dispersal order as pro-Palestine demonstrators congregated on the South Mall, establishing an encampment. Subsequently, reports emerged of Texas DPS Troopers entering the vicinity in riot gear and dismantling the encampment.

At roughly 1:30 pm CT, Texas DPS Troopers and additional law enforcement personnel descended upon the campus, erecting police barriers. Prior to this, UTPD had already dispatched a dispersal order shortly after 1 pm CT. The directive came in response to protesters assembling with pro-Palestine signs and encircling tents they had erected.

According to several users on X, the police has started making arrests and several people have reportedly being detained. Videos of police aking arrests were also shared widely on social media.

The protests at UT Austin started with a student-led walkout on April 24 (Wednesday). They demanded the university sever ties with manufacturers providing weaponry to Israel. What started as a peaceful demonstration spiraled into chaos as police, donning riot gear and mounted on horses, intervened to scatter the protesters. It culminated in the arrest of 57 individuals.

“In Greg Abbott’s police state troopers march through pro-Palestine students at the University of Texas. I’ve never seen such a surge in police force against protesters ever in my lifetime. The foreign lobby seems to be dictating domestic policy now,” one user wrote on X.

“I fully support @GovAbbott and his decisions to keep the colleges and universities safe in Texas. He is doing the right thing protecting the students regardless of race, religion, gender, etc,” another said.

“Time to withdraw all money and funds to the terrorist supporting Universities these #WokeKids don’t even know what they’re protesting @UCLA @UOCuniversity1 @UniversityOfTexas @Harvard @Columbia,” wrote one user.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management has plans for a $423 million headquarters and emergency operations center in Austin, Texas, the Austin Business Journal reported.

The TDEM is overseen by the Texas A&M University System, whose Board of Regents first approved the project, with a $360 million budget, last November. In February, the board approved a more extensive—and expensive—plan totaling $423 million.

The project reportedly will combine steel-framed and mass timber construction. Work is expected to begin next month.

A new campus with more meeting space

As things stand currently, TDEM occupies offices at 313 Anderson Lane, near the intersection of Interstate 35 and Highway 183, but this location reportedly has limited meeting space. In addition, the agency leases about 25,000 square feet of meeting rooms at a nearby hotel and has also converted 10 to 15 guest rooms there into additional meeting spaces.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Office Projects Under Construction in Austin

The plans approved in November specified a 296,000-square-foot campus on 48 acres at 4125 S. Farm-to-Market Road 973, east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The complex would have included a five-story office building and the new state emergency operations center, but the recently approved amendment expanded the scope.

The extra funding will add a 38,000-square-foot sixth floor to the office building, as well as expand the overall property with a 15,400-square-foot warehouse, a 900-space parking garage and a 1,200-square-foot secure facility for the processing of sensitive compartmented information.

The new emergency operations center will be 90,068 square feet and designed to withstand 200 mph windstorms. The building is set to include meeting rooms and spaces for a joint information center, press conference room and GIS workroom.

Austin’s office pipeline soars

Austin had some 4.3 million square feet of office space under construction as of March, representing 4.6 percent of total stock, according to a recent CommercialEdge report. The metro lagged Dallas-Fort Worth, (more than 5.1 million square feet in the development pipeline), but surpassed Houston (about 1.8 million square feet underway).

Notable office projects that came online in Austin in the first quarter of this year include Uptown ATX ‘s One Uptown, a 381,739-square-foot Class A mid-rise that is part of Brandywine Realty Trust’s 66-acre mixed-use community dubbed Uptown ATX. At full build-out, the campus will include 3.2 million square feet of residential, retail and office space.