Student protests at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) and Texas State University have shown a stark contrast in the handling of recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the state of affairs in the Middle East. While Texas State saw peaceful demonstrations, UT-Austin experienced a heavy-handed police response that has left students grappling with end-of-year exams amidst recovering from the resulting physical and emotional trauma.
Anne-Marie Jardine, a UT-Austin senior, embodies the struggle of many students after being detained during the protests. "This is the best I can do right now," she typed at the bottom of her final research paper, hinting at the distress following her violent encounter with law enforcement. Jardine, in a statement obtained by The Texas Tribune, expressed her fears of the university withholding her degree as a disciplinary measure for her involvement in the demonstrations, an action that UT System leaders have threatened.
At Texas State University, on the other hand, protests were described as orderly, with campus police monitoring but not intervening. "We're not being heckled by cops, knowing that I'm not going to get removed from campus permanently just for using my First Amendment right," one student remarked, according to a YouTube video.
Back at UT-Austin, the fallout from the protests during the finals period has been substantial. Studying and completing assignments has become a strenuous multitask for students who were arrested, with some balancing their academic responsibilities while supporting their detained peers. Mia Cisco, a student arrested during the protests, rushed to continue her academic duties within hours of her release. "It’s a trauma that I’m having to take time and space to process but it’s really hard during finals considering you can’t avoid the place of trauma," Cisco told The Texas Tribune.
Despite the upheaval, student protesters remain committed to their cause, demanding that UT-Austin divest from companies supplying weapons to Israel. These sustained efforts, however, have come at a personal cost. The fear of potential repercussions on their academic and future professional endeavors remains a looming threat for students like Jardine and her peers. Now, they await the university’s final judgment on their acts of civil protest as they simultaneously close chapters of their academic journey and contemplate the uncertain roads ahead.
