The encampment at Chess Plaza, which was established less than 12 hours before its raid at around 4 pm, was built in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Demonstrators at the encampment demand that UTD divest from the State of Israel and corporations promoting and perpetuating occupation, including local arms manufacturers. Students for Justice in Palestine and Palestinian Youth Movement collaborated to organize the protest.
Weapons dealers in North Texas are amongst a laundry list of arms manufacturers across the country who provide Israel with the bombs used in the Siege on Gaza. Local institutions like the City of Dallas and University of Texas make huge investments into these corporations directly. Students express pointed outrage at their tuition dollars’ investment into both Israeli occupation and the ongoing struggle of Palestinians.
According to a report produced by Women of Weapons Trade Transparency, a non-profit organization committed to policy change via the production of research on weapons sales, from 2019 to 2022 the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) had invested around $200 million into weapons manufacturing companies, many of which are implicated in Israel’s aggression against Palestine. Arms manufacturers include Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Corp., Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics. However, UTIMCO also makes investments in other companies that profit from Israeli occupation, such as ExxonMobil and Blackrock. UTIMCO, though, is in good company. Likewise, Dallas Weekly has reported on pro-Israel donors and their contributions to the campaigns of several city council members and the mayor.
Additionally, students demand that UTD acknowledge the genocide of Palestinians and condemn the violence of Israeli occupation in the establishment of the apartheid state.
The Siege on Gaza has continued for seven months now. As the death toll has climbed to at least 34,568, the true number of those killed by the Israeli military probably far surpasses this as thousands are still missing and over 10,000 are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
The encampment at UTD was established around 5 am, organizers explaining that it took less than 20 minutes to set up tents. By late morning, university leadership attempted to intimidate students with the help of UTD Police. The university also notified the fire marshall and claimed the encampment was not up to code. The marshall reportedly made a quick determination that the encampment did not present any such issue.
‘Gaza Liberation Plaza,’ like most liberation zones set up by university students across the country, held a full schedule that included poetry readings, teach-ins, prayer, and free meals to all visitors of the encampment. A sign displaying rules was also placed at the Plaza’s entrance, promoting friendly conduct and inclusivity while forbidding drugs & alcohol, littering, and vandalism of any kind. Open dialogue was encouraged and many students were studying for finals on laptops while staying at the encampment. “I still have my dissertation to do,” one student says.
Teach-ins and poetry readings were facilitated by Associate Professor of History Ben Wright. Topics included American Imperialism, dissemination of propaganda, and other related concepts. Among many points, Professor Wright explained that the pushback against protests on college campuses in the United States relates to the suppression of educational bodies by authoritarian interests around the world, making reference to bombings of universities in Gaza. “This is not collateral damage,” Professor Wright says. “It’s all intentional.”
The poem “To Our Land” by Mahmoud Darwish was a featured work of the readings. The poem reflects on the hardships of the Palestinian people who have suffered displacement at the hands of Israel and muses on the beauty of Palestine, despite tragedy and bloodshed.
While events continued, police established a command center in the nearby student services building to surveil protesters. Following a peaceful morning and afternoon, the Office of the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at UTD distributed a notice to organizers, stating:
The setting up of an encampment – including tents, barricades, and other structures – is not permitted under the University’s Policy for Speech, Expression, and Assembly, nor is it permitted under any other University of Texas at Dallas or UT System Policy or Rule.
Individuals may peacefully assemble in the common outdoor areas of campus and exercise their right to freedom of speech, but individuals may not erect or maintain an encampment. Individuals are not permitted to block or obstruct passageways to facilities, including outdoor passageways. This is a written notice that all tents and structures must be removed immediately.
Failure to comply with this instruction may result in removal for Criminal Trespass Conduct or other violations of state law and or sanctions under the Student Code of Conduct, as appropriate.
Delivery of the notice came with a line of state troopers at the end of the walkway path, brandishing night sticks in riot gear in front of SWAT vehicles. As protesters began pro-Palestine chants following their refusal to leave, law enforcement advanced on the encampment.
As three faculty members and almost 20 student protesters were dragged away by law enforcement, one demonstrator could be seen vomiting while police carried her to their vehicle according to video taken at the scene.
Faculty arrested included Wright, Professor Rosemary Admiral, and Professor of Art History Ali Asgar Alibhai.
With the assistance of the Department of Public Safety, Richardson Police, Allen Police, and Collin County Sheriffs, university law enforcement destroyed the encampment, dumped food, and seized personal property as officers held a line against protesters with no dispersal order. Many officers’ badges were covered or nonexistent.
Some officers taunted protesters. UTD Officer Steven J. Rooney laughed as the encampment was torn down by fellow law enforcement. Though it was later revealed to be 1807, Rooney, like many others, refused to provide his badge number.
The crowd grew by hundreds as other students and protesters arrived to offer support against law enforcement and the university. State troopers brandishing weapons, including tear gas and assault rifles, stood by as protesters chanted, “Who failed Uvalde? You failed Uvalde,” in reference to DPS’ failure to effectively minimize casualties in the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Following the destruction of the camp, officers continued calling reinforcements as around 400 protesters gathered around police. Organizers with Students for Justice in Palestine and Palestinian Youth Movement then led demonstrators to the Plinth near the Student Union Building, prioritizing safety of students as law enforcement left the scene shortly after.
The response by UTD and law enforcement marks a distinct and concerted effort to crush encampments swiftly. Following news at UT Austin, where 79 arrests were made over a three-day period, action taken against protesters at UT Dallas was variably heavy-handed and immediate in an attempt to intimidate and dissuade the student body from taking a similar approach.
“Students are going to continue to reject their institutions’ complicity in an ongoing genocide,” Nidaa, a lead organizer stated to press at the encampment. “We showed the world and we showed the campus what the true colors of UTD administration is. What the true colors of the State of Texas is. And their true colors is that they are willing to violently arrest their own students […] because they are brave enough to stand up against genocide and against the complicity of their own institution.”
Coincidentally, UTD’s encampment cropped up on May Day, a day commemorating the historic struggles and gains made by workers holding the line in the labor movement – the same day United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain condemned the response to university student protests and emphasized the union’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Organizers at UTD held the area outside the UTD Student Union Building before leaving to provide jail support for arrestees taken to Collin County Jail in McKinney. As of May 2, all arrested protestors had been released following demonstrations and were received warmly by community members and other organizers.