Columbia is a mess

[TexasTiger 12,966]

17 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

It appeared to me from the video that she was interfering with an arrest and the Sgt. wasn’t having it and arrested her.   Now whether some of you think that it was excessive, that will be for a jury or his supervisors to decide.   I don’t think that you were there and I’m sure you weren’t there to hear everything that was being said way before the incident even happened.   How many warnings do you think were given prior to any of this happening?   

Wasn’t time for many. If they don’t drop charges against her I’ll be shocked. No sane prosecutor wants this case.

[TexasTiger 12,966]

18 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

Bull sh@t!!!’   If that’s the case, he could have fired off a warning shot.   And you don’t get to shoot someone, just to stop what you might think will be a rush by others.   Who gives a crap about destroying property?  That’s an argument for lethal force?   First time I heard that one.   

You didn’t read well. The officers are charged with protecting congress from intruders using violent force. I suspect you believe you can shoot someone trying to break your window to come into your house, much less a riotous mob.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

5 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

I think everyone understands that point. I  just wonder if it had been a woman pro Israel protester if you’d feel the same way. 

Of course I would.  If you don’t respect authority you should be arrested.  It happened on J6th and at Emory the difference is law enforcement acted quicker at Emory.  That was one of the biggest mistakes make in the summer of 2020.

[CoffeeTiger 5,135]

1 minute ago, I_M4_AU said:

Of course I would.  If you don’t respect authority you should be arrested.  It happened on J6th and at Emory the difference is law enforcement acted quicker at Emory.  That was one of the biggest mistakes make in the summer of 2020.

The vibes: 

[auburnatl1 4,984]

Hurts my head. Suddenly the gop guys are all about law and order and respecting institutions. We’ll see how this ages on other threads.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

32 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

Hurts my head. Suddenly the gop guys are all about law and order and respecting institutions. We’ll see how this ages on other threads.

This statement is as disingenuous as anything you have written.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

34 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

The vibes: 

Please clarify for me, do you believe anybody has authority over you as a liberal American? Do you believe as a liberal American you can push the boundaries of law enforcement, cross those boundaries and still not be held accountable?

[AU9377 4,980]

2 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

Surprised you made such a strong and absolute statement with zero evidence.

It is just my frustration with this entire group of people protesting.  They are demanding something that is not attainable and their reasoning ignores too many facts for me to actually engage in respectful dialogue with them.  Both of these professors are entitled to their opinions.  However, their position is such that added responsibility should accompany their actions.

Demanding that an institution like Emory divest itself of any connection with Israel is, in my opinion, childish banter based on naive understandings of world affairs.  Associating that cause with the Stop Cop City movement makes it even less of a respectable cause.

[TexasTiger 12,966]

6 minutes ago, AU9377 said:

Both of these professors are entitled to their opinions.  However, their position is such that added responsibility should accompany their actions.

And what specifically do you know about these professors opinions?

[TexasTiger 12,966]

25 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

This statement is as disingenuous as anything you have written.

It’s spot on.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

4 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

It’s spot on.

Says the man (woman) that tries to think for others.

[homersapien 11,396]

13 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

The repeated profanity suggests he was vindicative- something she said? Perhaps contact? Regardless, very bad look.

I think it had more to do with the "establish control" mentality of police training.  You don't have to throw someone on the ground to arrest them.

He clearly escalated the situation.

Edited April 26 by homersapien

[JMWATS 96]

Given this is a football forum check out the form on this tackle.

 

 

[TexasTiger 12,966]

1 hour ago, I_M4_AU said:

Says the man (woman) that tries to think for others.

Lord knows you need the help, but it’s really just that you’re predictable.

[homersapien 11,396]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/04/25/protests-texas-abbott-gaza/

Criticism, praise of Texas governor after dramatic use of troopers on protesters

(emphasis mine)

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Patrick Svitek

As word got out that pro-Palestinian protesters were planning to occupy a lawn on the University of Texas campus, Gov. Greg Abbott made a dramatic move: calling in more than 100 state troopers with orders to clear them out.

With that decision, which led to dozens of arrests amid video of riot-clad troopers on campus, Abbott sought to reassure his party — and the rest of the country — that Texas would not countenance a replay of the extended protester camp at New York’s Columbia University.

It was the latest move by Abbott (R) to position himself as one of the most assertive red-state governors in America, eager for a fight with the political left under the national spotlight. But the aggressiveness of the response has alarmed students, faculty, Democrats and even some Republicans who have previously sided with Abbott in his crusades to protect free speech on college campuses.

The third-term governor has already staked out a national reputation for his envelope-pushing policies to secure the Texas-Mexico border, including by busing migrants to Democratic-led cities. Former president Donald Trump has mentioned him as a possible running mate, though Abbott has denied interest. And Abbott has moved increasingly to the right in recent years, leading a charge this spring to purge the state house of fellow Republicans who have thwarted his agenda on school vouchers.

On Thursday, however, Abbott found himself in a storm of broader scrutiny. Critics were quick to note, for example, that Abbott proudly signed a law in 2019 that aimed to protect free speech on college campuses by guaranteeing anyone can protest in common outdoor areas as long as they are not breaking the law or disrupting the regular functioning of the school. That is precisely what those arrested Wednesday were doing, they said.

Prosecutors also dropped charges against 46 of the 57 protesters arrested Wednesday, citing “deficiencies” their lawyers had challenged in the probable cause affidavits submitted as part of their arrests, according to Diana Melendez, a spokeswoman for Travis County Attorney’s Office.

“We will continue to individually review all cases presented to our office to determine whether prosecution is factually and legally appropriate,” Melendez said.

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D), whose district includes the Austin campus, said the politics involved in the response “is not going to let this go, and that’s deeply, deeply troubling.”

End of carousel

“I’ve not yet heard any evidence of property damage or personal injury, and so the response — the police response — seems to have been in anticipation of something that didn’t happen, that ultimately didn’t happen,” Eckhardt said.

Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the rationale for his action nor criticism of it. But on social media, the governor responded approvingly to the law enforcement response, saying the protesters “belong in jail” and that any students taking part in “hate-filled, antisemitic protests” at public colleges should be expelled.

The latter reflected Abbott’s issuance last month of an executive order requiring public universities to revise their free speech policies to curb the “sharp rise in antisemitic speech and acts” on campuses.

On Thursday, protesters said the show of force ordered by Abbott was striking but not surprising.

“Gov. Abbott is taking a very political opportunity to enforce his agenda, a very right-wing agenda focused on control, not on governance,” said Chelsea Collier, a doctoral student at the school of information and a native Texan who spent her entire academic career at UT.

Varun Jawarani, 21, a senior from Austin majoring in computer science, said the message he received was “Don’t have a dissenting opinion from state government or we’ll send in the police.”

Not every student found the response unsettling.

Lily Caplan, 19, a sophomore journalism major from Westport, Conn., joined fellow members of Longhorn Students for Israel at a counterprotest next to the pro-Palestinian gathering Thursday, waving Israeli flags and chanting “Bring them home now” — a reference to Jewish hostages in Gaza.

“Yesterday we saw a totally different response than other universities around the country and me, as a Jewish student, I was so grateful for that. Don’t mess with Texas,” she said, echoing a state slogan as she stood in a circle with other counterprotesters. Caplan said she was reassured by support from Abbott and university president Jay Hartzell.

As governor, Abbott has aggressively wielded his executive power to address issues important to conservatives. The biggest example is Operation Lone Star, a vast border security mission that has cost Texas taxpayers billions of dollars and has involved border blockades and masses of state law enforcement in defiance of the federal government’s immigration role.

More broadly, Republicans in Texas have been targeting public colleges more than ever, portraying them as bastions of “wokeness” where conservative views are unwelcome. Last year, Abbott signed a bill into law to ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at public colleges and universities in Texas — a law that has hit UT especially hard.

Abbott and his GOP allies are unlikely to stop there. The governor said in an Austin speech last month that there are “some scofflaws out there” trying to circumvent the anti-DEI law and that lawmakers will work to crack down harder next legislative session.

“Just know this,” Abbott said, “we’re monitoring what our universities are doing.”

Abbott is not the only red-state governor who is pushing a hard line against protests related to the war in Gaza. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that if he were president, he would “send the Justice Department after” colleges where antisemitic protests are taking place and cancel visas for foreign students participating in the protests.

In Texas, many Republican activists and lawmakers applauded Abbott’s response Wednesday. But it was not universally embraced on the right.

Mark Davis, a conservative radio host in Dallas who has interviewed Abbott multiple times, initially questioned why exactly protesters were being arrested. He later said he had received adequate answers.

He later said he found the response justified after social media users noted UT leadership had told organizers not to proceed with the event, saying it would “violate our policies and rules, and disrupt our campus operations.”

Justin Amash, a former Michigan congressman now running for Senate there as a Republican, challenged Abbott to be more clear about the reason for the arrests.

“If he’s arresting them for their speech, then he’s violating the law, and his actions threaten everyone in the state, including everyone he claims to be protecting,” Amash said on X.

Abbott’s confrontations with higher education are unfolding as the Republican majorities in the Texas legislature grow only more supportive — and combative toward those who do not share their views. The March primary was a triumph for insurgent Republicans, some with Abbott’s backing, with 17 GOP incumbents in the House being defeated or forced to runoffs.

One of the challengers who captured a seat, North Texas attorney Mitch Little, was unapologetic Wednesday about the response to the protests, saying free-speech rights in Texas “do not include an AstroTurfed campsite for terrorist advocacy.”

“If you struggle to live within these simple boundaries, I encourage you to examine your other 49 options,” Little said.

Democrats, who have perennially failed to break the Republican lock on the state, said Abbott’s response to the protest was all about politics. The chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilberto Hinojosa, said in a statement that it was “yet another gross misuse of state-funds for campaign ads at the expense of UT students’ safety.”

The Democrats’ nominee for Senate this year, Rep. Colin Allred, suggested the state’s response to the UT protests was “overly aggressive.” The GOP incumbent, Sen. Ted Cruz, cast Allred’s comments as “explicitly attacking Tex. law enforcement for protecting Jewish students at UT.”

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

34 minutes ago, JMWATS said:

Given this is a football forum check out the form on this tackle.

 

 

After watching that clip there is no reason the cop could not have gone up to the protester and asked politely to stop whatever they were doing and de-escalate the situation without all the drama.  Police brutality I say.

Edited April 26 by I_M4_AU

[TexasTiger 12,966]

29 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Critics were quick to note, for example, that Abbott proudly signed a law in 2019 that aimed to protect free speech on college campuses by guaranteeing anyone can protest in common outdoor areas as long as they are not breaking the law or disrupting the regular functioning of the school.

This. They thought they were just opening campuses to conservatives.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

 

 

 

[TexasTiger 12,966]

On 4/25/2024 at 4:13 PM, TexasTiger said:

 

Follow up. Wasn’t protesting. Says the economics professor told her she was just walking across campus, didn’t know what the protest was for and saw a student being pummeled.

 

[auburnatl1 4,984]

24 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

Follow up. Wasn’t protesting. Says the economics professor told her she was just walking across campus, didn’t know what the protest was for and saw a student being pummeled.

 

Too well spoken and reasonable for my taste. I kinda prefer my agitators to be a little more … edgy.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

2 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

Follow up. Wasn’t protesting. Says the economics professor told her she was just walking across campus, didn’t know what the protest was for and saw a student being pummeled.y

 

You really missed on this one Tex.  The one quoted is the Chair of the Philosophy Department and is not the Economist that was arrested today.  I’m sure the Economic professor will have her own excuse for her behavior in a day or so.  I doubt either of these professors will face any meaningful penalty for their actions, they are heroes to the left.

[TexasTiger 12,966]

15 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

You really missed on this one Tex.  The one quoted is the Chair of the Philosophy Department and is not the Economist that was arrested today.  I’m sure the Economic professor will have her own excuse for her behavior in a day or so.  I doubt either of these professors will face any meaningful penalty for their actions, they are heroes to the left.

You can’t read for s***.

 

2 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

Says the economics professor told her she was just walking across campus, didn’t know what the protest was for and saw a student being pummeled.

 

[auburnatl1 4,984]

 Bringing in the metro Atlanta police was major overkill.  University police are more familiar with managing college students. It looked like a snowflake-fest, not Columbia.

University leadership is gonna take a hit.

[I_M4_AU 7,889]

14 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

You can’t read for s***.

 

 

So you made me listen to the entire 5+ minutes of this liberal professor explain how she is upset and not once did she mention an economic professor.  She mentioned another faculty member was arrested and you assumed, I guess, she was talking about the economic professor.

You can’t listen for sh!t.

[TexasTiger 12,966]

50 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

So you made me listen to the entire 5+ minutes of this liberal professor explain how she is upset and not once did she mention an economic professor.  She mentioned another faculty member was arrested and you assumed, I guess, she was talking about the economic professor.

You can’t listen for sh!t.

I didn’t make you do 💩 . Two faculty members were arrested. One for battery on a police officer. That was the economics professor. She referenced the only other faculty member arrested and clarified what that person was arrested for. You can’t deduce for 💩.