Texas University Protests Escalate: Students Face Police Crackdown and Arrests

“It felt unreal,” Alishba Javid, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, said of the moment she saw about 30 state troopers walking on the campus lawn.

Javid and hundreds of her classmates gathered on a grassy field in the shadow of the campus’ 94-metre tall limestone tower as part of a strike against Israel’s war in Gaza.

They are asking schools to abandon manufacturers that supply weapons to Israel, and instead, the number of law enforcement officers is beginning to increase.

According to Javid’s account, at least 50 officers joined the state police, all in riot gear. The protest was peaceful but tense as troops moved forward.

“That was the first time I was really scared,” said Javid, 22.

On April 24, dozens of students were finally arrested when the police tried to disperse protesters. A video of the confrontation between police and demonstrators quickly spread online, showing images from other campus protests across the United States.

However, Texans face a unique challenge as they battle a far-right state government that seeks to limit anti-Israel protests.

In 2017, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning government agencies from working with businesses that boycott Israel, and the country has since taken steps to further tighten the law.

Abbott also described the current protests as “disgusting” and “anti-Semitic”, fueling misunderstandings about demonstrators and their aims.

In addition, a state law that went into effect earlier this year forced public universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices.

Multiple students and staff told Al Jazeera that campuses have become less safe for people of color as a result of the law, prompting DEI advocates to leave.

On April 30, roadblocks were set up in front of the tower on the University of Texas at Austin campus (Reuters)

“Violence of minority groups”

Violence continues on the University of Texas campus as students continue to protest.

On April 29, the last day of classes, police used pepper spray and stun grenades to disperse a crowd on the Austin campus.

Hiba Faruqi, a 21-year-old student, said her knee was “bleeding” after she was knocked down during a shoe fight between students and police.

But she considers herself lucky not to have been more seriously injured. She said it was amazing to think that her own university called in state troopers and then had to send in medical personnel to help injured students.

“People don’t want to talk about the racist element here,” she said. way.”

As calls for decriminalization continue, students, lawyers and advocates told Al Jazeera they have to deal with suspicion and outright hostility from the Texas government.

“Texas is known for using violence to subvert minorities,” Faruqi said: “The reason this time is terrible is because it didn’t work.”

Activists gather at Texas university to call on companies linked to Israeli arms to divest (Al Jazeera)

Review of university grants

Many of the protests have focused on the University of Texas’ endowment, a money bank intended to support its nine campuses in the long term.

The University of Texas System has the largest public education endowment in the United States, valued at over $40 billion.

Some of the money comes from investments in military and defense contractors and aerospace, energy and defense technology companies with deep ties to Israel.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of investments in the system is, for example, ExxonMobil, which supplies fuel to Israel’s fighter jets.

Those ties have sparked protests on public college campuses across the state, including a May 1 demonstration at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Fatima, one of the demonstrators, only gave her first name to Al Jazeera out of fear for her safety. She wiped sweat from her face as a young child led a crowd of about 100 in chants of “Free Palestine, free, free!”

Fatima explained that the deportation protests were mostly peaceful, raising her voice to be heard above the noise.

“More than 30,000 people were murdered,” she said, referring to the death toll in Gaza, where Israel’s military operation is entering its eighth month.

“Our universities are investing in the weapons manufacturing companies that supply these weapons to Israel. We will stay here until our demands are met.”

Twenty students and staff were arrested that day in Dallas. Fatima is a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, whose members spent the night outside the county jail waiting for their friend to be released.

One protester falsely noted outside the prison that they had been arrested for trespassing on their own campus, a crime that seemed absurd.

In the background, a thunderstorm began to rise, so the activists huddled tighter under the umbrellas.

Student activists applaud each other as they are released from the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, on April 30 (Reuters)

Activists receive support from the community

Texas officials and university administrators have defended the police crackdown in part because of the presence of foreigners with no connection to the campuses involved.

But the activist Anisa Jakaman, 30, was among those who visited the university protests to try to provide supplies and support.

Everyone has a role, Jakaman explains: Sometimes Hers is a communicator, but more often than not, the role of a healer.

She delivered water to student demonstrators at the University of Texas at Dallas and wanted to give people a place to “come and talk about how we heal.”

“This is a healing movement,” she said several times in interviews with Al Jazeera, “and we have to have each other’s backs.”

Giacaman is a Texan through and through: She grew up in suburban Dallas and is a staunch advocate for the state.

“I’m a proud Texan,” she said, “In fact, I think Texans are among the best in the country.”

But as early as when he was in college from 2012 to 2016, Jakaman started using his voice to bring awareness to the Palestinian situation.

Human rights groups have long warned that Israel’s apartheid regime against the ethnic group has left its members subject to discrimination and displacement.

In college, Jakaman’s friends often laughed at her enthusiasm.

“They just think I’m an environmentalist, but for human rights,” she explains in a soft, confident voice.

But the current war has raised her concerns, with the United Nations saying famine is “imminent” in parts of Gaza and human rights experts pointing to a “threat of genocide” there. the Palestinian enclave.

Jakaman has been wearing her hijab since the war began on October 7, despite fears that it could cause violence against her.

“Honestly, I wear it because I feel it protects my heart,” she said, “I feel like I’m doing an injustice to the Palestinian people by not wearing it.” to wear it.”

But she has struggled to get government officials to understand her concerns about war and the destruction of Israel’s military-related businesses, trying for months to convince the city council local that this is “a human problem, everyone’s problem,” with little success.

“Everything we are seeing now is designed to end the debate,” she said.

A boy leads a crowd in chanting pro-Palestinian slogans at a demonstration in Dallas, Texas (Al Jazeera)

Young activists look to the future

Students like Javid, who is in her final semester of journalism, told Al Jazeera they are still trying to figure out what recovery looks like – and what the future holds. like them, in many ways she and her friends felt trapped.

They realized they needed to take a break from looking at social media for information about the war, but that was all they could think about.

The usual rituals of college – finals, graduation, and finding a job – don’t seem so important anymore.

Javid asked after the protest, “How do we get back to work now? “

While she is enjoying her time at the university, she is also very critical of how the school is declining on complaints, although she said, part of the blame lies with the government.

“The basic problem in Texas is that the state doesn’t care,” she said.

Javid, who was born and raised in the Dallas area, plans to stay in Texas for at least a little while after she graduates this month, but she has mixed feelings about staying long-term.

She hopes to pursue a career in social justice work, particularly in higher education, but worries that such work would be vulnerable in her hometown.

However, she feels a sense of responsibility that ties her to the state, saying that the political climate in Texas can be challenging, but she has a duty – to her fellow activists and to Palestine – continue to influence.

“I don’t want to jump ship and just say, ‘Texas is crazy,'” Javid said, adding, “I want to be part of the group of people who are trying to make things better. Because if it wasn’t for us. , it wouldn’t be us.” Who could it be?”