This impeachment proceeding was one of the longest of the three, with four witnesses called upon by the impeachment manager and two called upon by Thomason. Throughout the entire hearing Thomason did not deny any of the allegations, instead the credibility of the witnesses was questioned.

After almost three hours of deliberations students outside waited anxiously for the final verdict, which needed to be 16 senators voting “yes” in order for the vice president to be removed from office. Only 14 senators voted yes; eight voted no, and one abstained from the vote altogether. Students outside were incredibly furious, the victims of Thomason felt as if they were victimized yet again by UTA and the senate.

Immediately after his acquittal, Clayton began reneging on all of his apologetics and declared himself the student body’s president. The students had other ideas in mind. Progressive Student Union, alongside allies and friends of the victims, promptly called for a protest on Monday, April 11 to demand that Thomason Clayton resign from office – as the student body should not be led by bigots or sexual harassers.

On April 11, the rally began at noon and would grow to 60 people. It featured several speakers from Progressive Student Union and those opposed to Clayton leading student government. All of the victims, including the impeachment manager, came to the protest. Meghan Flynn, a former senator and one of Clayton’s victims, spoke at length about how the vice president belittled and bullied her while in office and how she was aghast at the fact he was allowed to walk despite never once denying any of the allegations laid before him. She echoed what many other speakers would say – that Clayton is not fit for office.

Many spoke to their experiences with sexual assault and made the overarching point that victims need to be heard and supported by community on a personal level and at large by the institutions designed to represent us.

One of Thomason Clayton’s own witnesses, Dylan Hernandez, came to the protest and spoke briefly about how he agreed that Thomason should resign from office and apologized for even being a witness for Clayton.

Four members of Progressive Student Union listed out the community-focused demands which ranged from the immediate resignation of Thomason Clayton; a statement condemning the recent bigotry and misogyny of the student body executive branch; reiterating the demands for transparency regarding diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as expansion of gender-neutral housing on campus.

Mark Napieralski, flanked by Joy Wells and Justin Bent, led the rally-goers in a march to deliver their seven-point demands to Lisa Nagy, vice president of student affairs, and Seth Ressl, director of student organizations. At least 40 of the students joined in chanting “No harassers on our campus!” “We believe survivors” and “UTA, do your job!” as the demands were delivered to their respective destinations.

Progressive Student Union ended the rally by stating that the struggle was not yet over, because even if Thomason resigned, there would still be much work to be done in regards to fighting for the rights of survivors.

#ArlingtonTX #UniversityOfTexasAtArlington

One of the key aspects in impeachment manager Jacqueline Avila’s case was that Alyssa Spencer had waited an entire month to post a very necessary document needed for student senators to perform their duties in order to remain student senators.

Furthermore, Spencer’s comments on George Floyd’s death, celebrating the destruction of his mural, and blaming chattel slavery in America on Africans in Africa continued to highlight the bigoted and anti-Black nature of her views.

Like also impeached Caitlyn Burge-Surles, Alyssa Spencer took no responsibility or accountability for her comments. At one point during the impeachment, Spencer claimed that George Floyd was being “worshiped like a God” and that she did not believe a “criminal like him” should be held in such a light. She refused to answer a question a senator posed to her regarding George Floyd being a victim of a murder, when Spencer attempted to claim she had sympathy for those murdered during the George Floyd uprising. In her closing argument, she stated “conservative Christians know the truth” on the matters she was speaking.

Several senators, themselves Christians, found incredible offense in this messaging – and fought back against the insinuation that it was her Christian beliefs that were on trial. She was found guilty unanimously of the charges, all 21 senators at this hearing agreeing she should be impeached.

A second great victory for the student movement in making sure that bigotry has no room to breathe or fester on campus, especially in student government.

#ArlingtonTX #UniversityOfTexasAtArlington #TurningPointUSATPUSA

This all began in 2019 when the Texas State legislature allowed UTA to raise the student union fee, which is a fee associated with the University Center (UC) on campus which most students have to pay. In January of 2022 the administration had presented a proposal to student government for them to adopt a resolution that would help make this happen. This resolution called for a referendum to raise student union fees under the auspices of “making a New UC” alongside having necessary renovations due to failing infrastructure. This quickly transformed from attempting to make necessary renovations to completing rebuilding the UC and adding an additional 50,000 square feet to the west of the building.

This fee increase would be a four-fold increase, from $39 per semester to $150, making it more expensive than most of the UT system schools student union fees. The caveat was that this fee increase would not take place until “significant construction” had been completed on the New UC.

What had not been properly conveyed is that the UT Systems Board and UTA administration reached an agreement whereby the UT Systems would grant a loan to help construct this ‘New UC’ which would approximately cost $100 million – but with the collateral that the student union fee increase be tied to it via a referendum in order to begin paying back the New UC the moment of its technical completion.

For months the administration, using the current student union fees, pushed forth attempts to galvanize support for their plans via townhall meetings, ads in the local student newspaper The Shorthorn, and having their workers constantly promote it. The administration used 2019 commissioned art pieces that were mock ideas on what the UC might look like, without saying the building would not look like what was shown.

Furthermore, the administration attempted to use progressive language to win over student activists, claiming that this new UC would allow UTA to truly “celebrate” its diverse past.

Progressive Student Union (PSU) kept an eye on the issue, and resolved to be the bulwark of the ‘No’ vote when the referendum came. During one of the townhalls PSU Chief Organizer Mark Napieralski, asked if the administration would provide a tuition freeze so that costs would be lower if the fee would actually take effect. John Hall, the administrator over the UC, said that was not an option. During the election, PSU members leafleted and told students to vote ‘No’ in order to maintain the affordability of the school. As an example of rising costs, for international and out-of-state students, tuition rose approximately $8000 dollars per year, from $22,000 to $30,000, just between 2018 to 2021.

Through these initiatives, the students voted and managed to come back with a narrow but significant victory – 733 students voted against the hike and 730 students voted for the hike.

Kolin Kilpatrick, a member of Progressive Student Union, stated, “If the university really wanted to improve student life they would fix the aging buildings we attend class in, and keeping the restaurants we already have open when students need them – as an example the current food court already has terrible hours for students, with the majority of restaurants closed before 11:00 and on weekends. The administration should focus on making things better for students while maintaining the affordability of the college, not raking up prices to build unnecessary new buildings.”

This was one of the many victories that students at UTA got during this semester, especially as the economic life in the country and for students especially gets worse as time goes on.

#ArlingtonTX #ProgressiveStudentUnion #UniversityOfTexasAtArlington

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.

This impeachment was only possible due to the intense pressure that came from within the senate, and from the student movement calling for accountability last week. There was a great amount of anticipation regarding this, as this impeachment is the first within UTA student government’s history.

The leading impeachment manager, Senator Jacqueline Avila, led the case to show that Burge-Surles materially failed in her duties as student government president through her transphobia, racism and general xenophobia. Throughout the impeachment, Avila provided testimonial evidence against Burge-Surles Caitlyn Burge being running racist accounts on Twitter that called for deportations, and of course brought up the discord leaks themselves.

Burge-Surles attempted to both say that she was not in the wrong, and that her bigotry are personal opinions that should not be targeted to begin with. This argument was not received well by the student senate, which delivered a resounding unanimous vote against her in the impeachment proceedings. All 25 senators in attendance resoundingly condemned this blatant bigotry. The senators followed the sentiments of the students outside, who cheered at the news, as Senator Matthew Swingler said, “the student body reacted by taking the streets to these comments, that’s what the student body thought of this” during the discussion portion of the Impeachment.

Members of Progressive Student Union, NAACP, Black Student Association were physically present at the meeting with others watching via livestream. As Burge-Surles and others with Turning Point USA walked off, everyone gathered together to say “No bigots on our campus!”

#ArlingtonTX #LGBTQ #Antiracism #UniversityOfTexasAtArlington #TurningPointUSATPUSA

Arlington, TX – University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has a bust, and the University Center named, in honor of one of its first Presidents – Ernest H. Hereford. The bust was commissioned in October of 1958, a month before his death, and the center was renamed in his honor in February 1959 by the Texas A&M system. For almost 60 years the bust and center have stood at the University.

But it has come to light, due to research done by Progressive Student Union, that Hereford had principally, intentionally and purposefully created an environment on campus where racism was welcomed and celebrated; where the K.K.K. was an officially recognized student organization; where mock-slave auctions were school-authorized events; and where the Confederacy’s symbols became synonymous with the school, due to Hereford’s sanctioning and drive to make it so.

The KKK, otherwise known as the “Davis Hall Klansmen” or “Kampus Kadet Klub,” was a student organization on campus that existed from 1946 to 1956 during Hereford’s administration. They were heavily featured on the social calendars at the time, calendars which needed approval from his administration. They hosted the ‘KKK Dance’ and ‘KKK Nite Club’ events, but also were in charge of the military balls and the annual homecoming bonfires that were put on by the larger school.

The fact for a large portion of its existence, the KKK co-existed around the Rebel theme developments and the mock-slave auctions. This shows the type of environment that Hereford sought to cultivate and propagate – one that welcomed the Klan’s ideology and the Klan as an institution. While the Klan student group eventually dissolved in 1956 due to uncertainty of continuing it for another semester, the Klan’s ideology would outlive it through the Rebel theme.

The Rebel theme came about when Hereford, personally, began to instigate the change, as he felt the school was not in support of the then football theme – the Blue Raiders. On Sept. 18, 1951 the student body voted in favor of the ‘Rebels’ as opposed to the ‘Cadets.’ But, Hereford began to push a full on adoption of Confederate attire, the Confederate Battle flag, and put the Confederacy on a pedestal of honor. Under him, the Shorthorn, the school newspaper, would post praises about the Confederacy and even boast that one of the school’s founders was a “real Rebel!”

The Rebel theme would far outlive Hereford himself, who died in 1958, by at least another ten years for the Beauregard Battle Flag and 13 years if we specifically talk about the Rebels mascot.

Finally, mock slave auctions were a common occurrence at homecoming under Hereford. They were tolerated, school sanctioned events that, after his death, would become their own events known as “Old South Days” in the 60s. The Shorthorn itself would actively promote these events, as they were official events put on by the school.

Progressive Student Union has been putting up a petition to get the Hereford statue removed, the University Center renamed, and to set up a memorial dedicated to the three men, Ernest Hooper, Jerry Hanes and Leaston Chase III, who forced UTA to desegregate in 1962, as well as those who fought against the Rebel theme in the 1960s and early 70s.

#ArlingtonTX #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #Antiracism #KKK #ProgressiveStudentUnion #UniversityOfTexasAtArlington #ErnestHHereford

Arlington, TX – About 20 students and supporters marched through the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) campus during the noon hour, Sept. 21, carrying signs and chanting slogans against police brutality. The march was organized by Progressive Student Union.

Mark Napieralski, president of PSU, said that although the march provided an important opportunity to speak out on the recent police killings of Keith Scott and Tyre King, the protest had actually been planned for some time and is part of a campaign against police brutality that PSU is conducting. “We will be working against police brutality all semester, with the specific goal of getting UTA to take a clear stance against police brutality,” Napieralski explained.

The campus was a busy place, with many students out and about going to class or lunch and a large number of student organizations operating tables. Onlookers mostly responded positively to the march, flashing peace signs, clapping, and in a couple of cases joining in the march briefly.

Slogans included “Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail,” and “If we don’t get no justice, they don’t get no peace.” Signs mostly carried the phrase “Black lives matter,” others bore the names of Tyre King, Terence Crutcher and Keith Scott.

After the march, the protesters gathered to discuss future actions. Two members of the UTA police department came over to the group to introduce themselves, but quickly got in an argument with a criminal justice student. The student, who said she worked at a police academy, was explaining the very limited amount of training on racial profiling that Texas police officers received. One of the UTA officers expressed disbelief and insisted the fact needed checking. Another protester responded, “That’s typical of police. You might not kill anyone yourself, you might not beat anyone yourself. But you will never admit anything the police do is wrong.”

#ArlingtonTX #StudentMovement #PoliceBrutality #ProgressiveStudentUnion #UniversityOfTexasAtArlington #ofTyreKing #TerenceCrutcher #KeithScott