April 24 was a day filled with chaos, violence and fear as the Palestine Solidarity Committee’s planned teach-in turned to a rally as police forces from the university, city and state branches forced students and protesters off campus, pushing them down Speedway and off the South Mall lawn in front of the tower.
Working with the Palestine Solidarity Committee, UT senior Neha Madhira (pictured in hi-vis vest) informs protesters how to best stay safe and maintain their advocacy practices despite the police force presence on Wednesday, April 24.
Police used what appeared to be mace, zip ties and literal cavalry against students and other PSC supporters on Wednesday. Nearly 60 people were arrested, but all charges were dropped from that day by the Travis County attorney’s office.
Fox 7 photographer covering the protest at The University of Texas gets detained by state troopers pushing crowds off UT’s South Mall lawn on April 24, 2024.
Outraged by the violence shown towards students, UT-Austin Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine banded together with PSC to host a student-faculty walk-out the next day.
The walk-out participants and other supporters met at the Main Mall in front of the tower. Peacefully, protesters boosted pro-Palestinian chants, took a moment of silence and uplifted those detained the previous day.
(As pictured left to right) Jenny Veninga, Carson Hollis and Britt Hicks wait for the student and faculty walk-out hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee at The University of Texas on Thursday, April 25. “As people of faith, we always look for hope and see hope in everyone that’s coming out right now to show solidarity,” Hicks said. “But then [we] also [have] the mixed feelings of being upset, pissed, you know, just also a little fearful because of what happened yesterday with the state troopers coming out.”
On Monday, the last day of classes, UT’s campus was yet again met with force in the face of the pro-Palestine protesters’ events. This time, what appeared to be tear gas and flash bangs were used on the crowd and 79 people were arrested, according to the sheriff’s office.
Amid the increasing law enforcement presence challenging students’ acts of protest, groups like PSC, UT-Austin’s FSJP and the Austin for Palestine Coalition are calling for more events to be held. PSC’s Instagram account, @psc_atx, continues to post updates regarding new events, what happens during the events and how to support their movement and similar organizations.
