Arlington, TX – In the many decades since the University of Texas at Arlington ended segregation, students have fought long and hard to end the university’s practice of glorifying white supremacy.
Arlington, TX – The University of Texas at Arlington prides itself on the diversity and inclusivity of its campus, and rightfully so; the campus sports an impressive student body hailing from a multitude of cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. However, UTA cannot, and should not, parade its “inclusivity” until it openly acknowledges the issue of its racist history. From school-sanctioned minstrel shows and mock slave auctions to the Confederate ideology, UTA continues to wrongfully honor one of the worst purveyors the university’s darkest legacies, Jack R. Woolf.
Arlington, TX – University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) is one of the most diverse campuses in the state of Texas, and the United States as a whole – yet it has a history of segregation and racism that the current administration attempts to whitewash and ignore. A man responsible for some of the most egregious aspects of UTA’s history is none other than former university President E. H. Hereford, who has a bust located in the University Center (UC) named after him.
Arlington, TX – On September 7, the Progressive Student Union held a rally here to speak out against the reversal of Roe v. Wade, as part of a wider national day of action called by Students for a Democratic Society.
Arlington, TX – On April 6, the last of the impeachment hearings against then-Vice President Thomason Clayton was held regarding his harassing and misogynistic attitudes towards female coworkers during his tenure as vice president of the student government of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).
Arlington, TX – On April 5, the second student government bigot, a member of the conservative group Turning Point USA, had their impeachment trial in the student senate. Alyssa Spencer, now ex-chief of staff, faced similar charges to Caitlyn Burge-Surliest in being unable to perform her duty as an executive officer of student government due to her bigoted views alongside her poor performance as a chief of staff.
Arlington, TX – On April 4 and 5, the University of Texas at Arlington held its semester student elections. In addition to these elections was a referendum brought forth by the administration of UTA to justify raising tuition and fee costs related to the school.
Arlington, TX – April 4 was a great victory for the student movement at the University of Texas at Arlington. The impeachment proceedings against Caitlyn Burge-Surles, the racist Turning Point USA leader and then-president of student government, happened with over 50 people in attendance both inside and outside the student government chambers.
Arlington, TX – On March 24, an email went out to senators of the University of Texas at Arlington student government detailing screenshots from the Turning Point USA discord server that revealed the student government President Caitlyn Burge-Surles and student government Chief of Staff Alyssa Spencer engaging in racist, transphobic and generally bigoted rhetoric.
Arlington, TX – On March 23, Progressive Student Union at the University of Texas at Arlington held a protest condemning the transphobic attacks that Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick have imposed on Texan families. Both men attempted to direct the state Department of Family and Protective Custody to consider gender reaffirming therapeutics, such as puberty blockers, hormonal treatment and other aspects of trans healthcare, to be classified as “child abuse,” thereby making both families that support their trans youth and licensed professionals who are either aware of or support said youths getting the necessary healthcare liable to charges of “child abuse” or “abetting child abuse.”
Arlington, TX – On September 22, Progressive Student Union (PSU) rallied with at least 40 students over the University of Texas Arlington (UTA) administration’s failures in following through on Resolution 18-04, which was a student resolution involving greater access to women’s healthcare products on campus. This resolution was officially passed by student government in spring 2019, and little progress has been made in regard to dispensaries being put in women’s bathrooms or having affordable products being sold in campus stores.
Arlington, TX – On September 1, the Progressive Student Union rallied 50 people to protest the recent attacks launched by Governor Greg Abbott and the GOP against women’s rights, and democracy. The most egregious of these attacks came in the form of an anti-abortion bill that sought to restrict the access to abortion in Texas to only the first six weeks of pregnancy, and made it a liable offense to offer aid in a woman getting an abortion in any way if it was beyond the first six weeks.
Arlington, TX – On February 10, the Progressive Student Union held a rally for accountability at the University of Texas at Arlington. PSU held the rally to determine the current status of the commitments made by the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) administration over six months ago.
Arlington, TX – On February 14, Texas was hit with the worst snowstorm in its history, with temperatures reaching historic lows of 6 degrees Fahrenheit. Although these temperatures are not uncommon across the contiguous United States, this situation has had a severe effect in Texas. Texas is behind several states when it comes to dealing with frigid temperatures because of poor infrastructure.
Arlington, Texas – On September 20, over 50 people gathered at Masjid Dar El Eman, an Islamic center, for a car protest against the United Arab Emirates’ and Bahrain's normalization of relations with Israel. The car caravan was organized by the Dallas Palestine Coalition; Palestinian Youth Movement-Dallas, Muslim Democratic Caucus-Texas; American Muslims for Palestine-Texas; Code Pink-Greater Dallas, and Veterans for Peace-Dallas.
Arlington, TX – July 10, marked the culmination of the Progressive Student Union’s call-in campaigns, email-ins, and callouts against Teik C. Lim’s administration for not doing enough for Black students at the University of Texas-Arlington. Through both private email and public statements, UTA had conceded to several demands made by PSU in regards to doing specific actions to make “Black lives matter” truly mean something at UTA as opposed to simply being a simple statement made by the administration at the height of the movement calling for justice for George Floyd.
Arlington, TX – As an international student, I am frankly disillusioned at the silence of the University of Texas Arlington (UTA) administration as they failed to address the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) plan for the deportation of international students if they enroll in an online classes in the upcoming fall semester. As of yet no email has arrived from the acting provost's office to either calm international students or provide them with any sort of protections to assure their safety against these federal mandates.
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union (PSU) rallied 30 students and community members, June 18, demanding community control and defunding of the Arlington Police Department. “We need to remember why we are doing this,” said Arlington resident Adara Arrie. “This is not something to post on social media for a trend. Change has not happened,”
Arlington, TX – The Progressive Student Union commenced a call-in campaign April 13 to get the administration at the University of Texas at Arlington to formally establish a Dreamer Center on their campus. Dreamer Centers exist already on several campuses, including University of Utah, Mountain View College, as well as UTA’s sister school the UT San Antonio. The latter has existed since 2018 due to student concerns that the undocumented students did not have adequate resources or protections due to the constant attacks on immigrants by the Trump administration.
Arlington, TX – On November 13, the University of Texas at Arlington Progressive Student Union (PSU) hosted a national leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Tom Burke, who gave an eyewitness report on Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution.