Identity of Speakers
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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
Unaffiliated
OtherFIRE is a non-profit civil liberties group with the mission of protecting freedom of speech on college campuses, which wrote a letter with concerns to San Antonio College
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Naydeen González-De Jesús
Faculty/Staff
OtherFormer President of San Antonio College
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Rally or protest
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Rally or Protests
University administration invoked formal speech code in response
Faculty responses (e.g., asking student to leave classroom)
Other
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
In January 2024, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a letter to San Antonio College (SAC) and Alamo Colleges District (ACD) officials, warning that the college had violated faculty and student First Amendment rights by postponing a faculty-organized “Teach-In for Palestine.” The event, initially scheduled for October 24, 2023, was delayed and renamed “Palestine 101” after SAC President Naydeen González-De Jesús and Vice President for Academic Success Cassandra Rincones raised concerns about its title, neutrality, and alleged speaker payments—claims later disputed by organizers. FIRE argued that the administration’s intervention constituted viewpoint discrimination and compelled speech, creating a chilling effect on future campus expression.
Internal emails revealed that SAC leadership insisted the event present “balanced” perspectives, with González-De Jesús at one point comparing it to needing to host the KKK and its opposition equally—remarks that drew sharp criticism. Although the renamed event eventually took place on October 30, faculty and students reported a lingering reluctance to engage in similar programming. The controversy triggered backlash from SAC’s Student Government Association, faculty senate, and senior executive team, all of whom issued “no confidence” statements. The Faculty Senate also unanimously censured González-De Jesús and Rincones, accusing them of unethical conduct and retaliation against organizers.
In March 2024, González-De Jesús was reassigned to a district-wide administrative role. The Alamo Colleges District maintained that it supports viewpoint neutrality and has the right to sponsor alternative programming.
