Columbia president faces key vote of censure from faculty as protests continue nationwide

The University of Texas at Austin has placed the Palestine Solidarity Committee on “interim suspension,” citing the “alleged violation of institutional rules,” according to Brian Davis, a spokesman for the university. 

“To be clear, the group is on interim suspension. Not the individuals. Length of suspension is determined by the Dean of Students office,” Davis said in a statement. 

The group, which organized Wednesday’s event that was met with a large police presence, posted a statement on Instagram Friday, calling the suspension “an attack on free speech to distract from and enable israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people!”

CNN is seeking clarity on what the interim suspension entails for the group. The PSC was planning to hold a vigil this coming Monday, but it’s unclear if that will continue. CNN has reached out to members of the group about the suspension. 

The university has stood by its decision to bring in law enforcement to prohibit the rally from moving forward on Wednesday, resulting in over 50 arrests and multiple clashes between police and students. The Office of the Dean of Students had also issued a letter to the PSC on Tuesday, warning that the event was not approved and the group would face disciplinary action, including suspension, if it proceeded. 

While the group used terminology like “occupy the lawn” in its promotional posts for Wednesday’s event, PSC members have told CNN they never intended to set up encampments on the lawn or stay overnight, and they had a schedule for the event that included study breaks and teach-ins. 

On Thursday, the university’s president, Jay Hartzell, released a statement saying the school tried to stop the event because “we had credible indications that the event’s organizers, whether national or local, were trying to follow the pattern we see elsewhere, using the apparatus of free speech and expression to severely disrupt a campus for a long period.”

Hartzell also noted that 26 of the 55 arrests were individuals with no affiliation to the university. 

Hartzell said the university has seen 13 pro-Palestinian events take place in recent months without incident, including another one that took place Thursday afternoon on campus.