Identity of Speakers
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Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
Unaffiliated
OtherA nonprofit organization that defends free speech and due process rights on college and university campuses.
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
Campus police
Other Law Enforcement
Other
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
In April 2024, around 150 protesters gathered at the University of Texas at San Antonio to call for a ceasefire in the Israel Hamas conflict. Organizers, along with the San Antonio chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, later said that UTSA’s Dean of Students told them to avoid using phrases like “Israel,” “Zionism,” Arabic language, and chanting “from the river to the sea” during the demonstration. They said the dean warned that using such terms could be considered antisemitic hate speech. One phrase in question was “from the river to the sea,” a slogan widely used by pro Palestinian activists that some critics view as calling for the elimination of Israel.
After the protest, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent two letters to UTSA President Taylor Eighmy urging the university to investigate. The group argued that public universities must respect the First Amendment and cannot prohibit speech based on how offensive it may seem to others. A video later posted by protest organizers showed the dean advising students to steer away from certain language, although it did not show her banning any specific words.
