The University of Texas at Arlington on Thursday removed a student-led encampment protesting Israel’s war in Gaza and calling on the school to divest.
School administrators say protesters repeatedly violated a camping ban approved late last month that student organizers say was designed to target their protest.
“I don't think it really matters if we violate the policy or not,” Progressive Student Union president Michael Anderson said. “I think they were going to get rid of us no matter what.”
Students launched the encampment on May 2 to demand UTA divestfrom businesses like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin that sell weapons to Israel, and end the school’s study abroad program to Israel amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
UTA’s camping policy, which went into effect May 1, states that camping equipment is not allowed on campus grounds and students can’t sleep outside from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. After launching the encampment in front of the Central Library lawn, protesters tried to comply by taking shifts and using tarps and umbrellas, but UTA President Jennifer Cowley said in a statement Thursday that “individuals repeatedly violated University policy.”
“Over the course of the last week, however, students and their outside supporters have continued to bring and store more personal items on site, violating UTA’s encampment policy,” she said. “With the students’ behavior unchanged and final exams concluded, I determined that it was time to end the violations of our encampment policy.”
Anderson said the school wasn’t enforcing the policy in good faith.
“We asked repeatedly, ‘OK, so how can we fix that? How can we be in compliance?’” he said. “They wouldn't tell us.”
The number of protesters at the encampment fluctuated from 25 to 50 over the past eight days, and university police maintained a small presence near it. Thursday’s removal took place hours before a graduation celebration on campus.
No arrests were made.
Similar encampments have been removed at universities around the state and the country, including UT Dallas and UT Austin.
Citing earlier pro-Palestinian protests at UTA, Cowley said in her statement that free speech is welcome on campus, but violations of university policy are not.
“This University is committed to free speech and civil discourse,” she said. “Free speech activities that comply with University policy are always permissible.”
Anderson says the group will continue protesting the conflict throughout the summer and next semester.
Juan Salinas II is a KERA news intern. Got a tip? Email Juan at jsalinas@kera.org. You can follow Juan on X @4nsmiley
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