ACLU Texas, students raise concerns about investigation of protesters

The ACLU of Texas has sent a letter to University of Texas President Jay Hartzell expressing concern that the university may be “suppressing the First Amendment rights of its students” and restricting speech by investigating the behavior of some students arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on campus on April 24 and 29.

As the American-Statesman previously reported, UT first initiated disciplinary proceedings on June 7 for alleged rule violations by some protesting students. The letters included copies of arrest affidavits, pictures from the protests and Instagram posts about the demonstrations.

The university's letter asked students to write a response to 12 questions about their conduct. The American Civil Liberties Union said it “assumes that the students receiving these communications have violated university policies and ignores that the First Amendment protects peaceful protest.”

The ACLU also expressed concerns about UT's use of probable cause affidavits as evidence, claiming that this violates students' due process rights because charges were dropped against all protesters arrested on April 24 and individuals “cannot be held responsible for the actions of a group simply because they participated in free speech activities.” It claims that students are being punished indiscriminately for their participation in the protests, rather than for individual violations.

UT spokesman Mike Rosen said in a June 14 email regarding a second round of disciplinary notices from the university that the students were disciplined not for protesting but for violating university rules.

“UT Austin supports the right of all members of our community to demonstrate and express their views on our campus as long as they adhere to our institutional rules,” he wrote.

Savannah Kumar, attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said the organization sent the letter to UT out of fear that the university's investigations would violate protesters' rights and restrict free speech.

“When participation in protests is scrutinized so closely and when students are subjected to such scrutiny, our constitutional rights are being sapped and it can also undermine the very principles of the university,” Kumar said. “That's why we were concerned about what we were seeing.”

Students reject accusations of rule violations

Police arrested a total of 136 people during the two protests, including 60 students. Many criticized the police response as excessive and escalating, but Hartzell, Gov. Greg Abbott and UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife praised the extensive police deployment as necessary and effective in ensuring campus safety.

The UT protests came in solidarity with other demonstrations across the country calling on universities to reduce their investments in weapons manufacturers that support Israel's war against Hamas, which has reportedly claimed more than 34,000 lives in Gaza. Israel began bombing Gaza after Hamas, the region's militant ruling party, attacked the Jewish state on October 7, killing 1,200 people.

The ACLU letter follows a collective letter UT students sent to the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in response to the disciplinary notices, which alleged that the students had not followed university rules and engaged in disruptive behavior. In their nine-page letter, the students deny the university's allegations and express concern that the process may be biased against them.

“We reject the charge that our participation in protected free speech activities 'interferes' with the function of the University,” the students' letter states. “In fact, we strongly assert the opposite: by exercising our fundamental rights of free speech and peaceful assembly, we were in fact directly performing an everyday function of the University.”

The collective letter cites previous statements from the university and Hartzell in support of free speech and calls for all students to receive a letter with the missing results instead of an administrative order.

“We ask that you please consider this and treat us with the compassion and understanding we deserve as students, Longhorns and members of a democratic society,” the students' letter said.

Sam Law, a UT student who was arrested on April 29 and received a disciplinary letter, said 23 students would send the letter to the university. He said people would also submit character references and letters of support.

“The university has not told us what disciplinary consequences there might be, but many of us are very afraid that there might be suspensions or expulsions,” Law said, adding that this is why many people have decided to respond despite having legal concerns about addressing the allegations. “That is a much more serious consequence than a legal one.”

Students also raise concerns that the process foregoes a normally scheduled in-person meeting and instead takes written submissions. They fear this will further limit their right to a fair hearing. Rosen previously said in his June 14 email that the process ensures that all students have a fair hearing.

Two teaching assistants who were fired from their jobs last fall for sending a pro-Palestinian message to their class were denied an opportunity for an in-person hearing because Hartzell changed its policies at the last minute to make the process more efficient. Their complaints about their job transfer were ultimately denied.

“We enforce our institutional rules”

Rosen said the university could not comment on individual cases, but on June 14, an undisclosed number of disciplinary notices were sent to protesting students for alleged violations of the rules.

“The university has made clear that it enforces its institutional rules, and the warnings sent to students who violated our rules during the protests on April 24 and 29 reflect that commitment,” the university's statement said.

Kumar, however, said the university's rules must still leave “room for the constitution.”

“The university cannot simply invoke these rules and say that if students have broken these rules, it is enough to punish them when the application of these rules infringes on the right to freedom of expression. And students do not give up that right just because they choose to enroll,” Kumar said.

Rosen did not respond to the Statesman's specific questions about UT's response to the ACLU and student letters.

Law said the protesters are not guilty of the university's allegations and are grateful to the ACLU for its support.

“I hope the university takes this seriously and lives up to the principles it claims to defend,” Law said.

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Students reject accusations of rule violations

“We enforce our institutional rules”

Anna Harden

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Students reject accusations of rule violations

“We enforce our institutional rules”

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