AUSTIN (KXAN) — Four students are facing two semesters of deferred suspension after they entered the office of the dean for the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work with a list of demands in December .
On Dec. 8, those students said they went to School of Social Work Dean Allan Cole and “peacefully protested” the university’s dismissal of two social work school teaching assistants after they sent a letter to a class about the war between Israel and Hamas.
According to a press release provided to KXAN by the students’ attorney, Cole would not listen to the students and left the room. The press release said the students left immediately “without incident” after the dean left.
A spokesperson from UT previously said when the students entered Cole’s office, he was on the phone with a funeral home making arrangements for his father’s funeral. The spokesperson said Cole relayed that information to the students, who continued to read the list of demands.
The letter, sent to one of the students and provided to KXAN, states if the students don’t follow specific santions, they will be expelled for two semesters, until Dec. 31, 2024.