UT Austin protest: Students gather for Palestine meeting on South Lawn

AUSTIN, Texas - The Palestine Solidarity Committee and the UT Austin Arab Students Association asked people to gather on the South Lawn to learn more about Palestine.

The gathering began at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30.

In a post on social media, the groups say they will be "discussing the history of Palestine, key aspects of the movement and modern context under colonial systems."

The groups add in their post, "As we see student repression on this campus and across the nation, it is clear that universities do not value education and justice — we will continue to advocate for a Free Palestine through education and community support, and we will continue the fight for liberation."

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The groups were also planning a Stand With Palestine May Day event on the UT South Mall on May 1, but that event has been postponed.

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Palestine protest at UT turns contentious

Hundreds of people gathered at UT Austin protesting the Israel-Hamas war. At times, things got contentious between protesters and law enforcement.

The Palestine Solidarity Committee is the same group that had organized the pro-Palestine rally on April 24 in which almost 60 people were arrested. Most of those who were taken to jail were released the next day and their charges were dropped.

The following day, UT faculty joined PSC and others for a rally after condemning the response to the April 24 rally saying, ""Instead of allowing our students to go ahead with their peaceful planned action, our leaders turned our campus into a militarized zone."

They continued, "There can be no business as usual when our campus is occupied by city police and state troopers who are preventing our students from engaging in a peaceful demonstration of their first amendment rights."

Then on April 29, Pro-Palestine protesters gathered once again on the University of Texas at Austin campus. 79 protesters were taken into custody, according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

The group says it is protesting to demand an end to the war in Gaza, the divestment of university funds from the systems responsible for the war, and other things.