AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Protests against the ongoing war in Gaza erupted last week at the University of Texas at Austin and its system schools, prompting debate about free speech on college campuses.
UT officials called on DPS officers in riot gear, along with UT and Austin police departments, to contain the protest and prevent encampments. Law enforcement arrested 57 individuals on criminal trespass charges, all of which were dropped .
“It was in light of what had happened in Columbia, for example, and Yale and other places around the country where the thing had really escalated and spun out of control,” said Texas Sen. John Cornyn in an interview with KXAN.
“The University of Texas here in Austin wanted to make sure that while they respected the free speech rights of the protesters, as they should, that the rights of the students to pursue their education wasn’t impinged upon, or that it didn’t become violent. So I think they were very prepared,” he continued.