I was there during the pro-Palestinian protest at UT-Austin. Free speech lost. | Opinion

I have years of experience defending students' rights to freedom of speech and assembly on college campuses, so when I heard that protesters were being arrested in my own backyard at the University of Texas, I had to go check it out.

When I arrived on campus, the South Lawn, a large area where free speech could take place without disrupting the flow of traffic, was roped off by campus police. While this was intended to prevent students from camping as they have at other campuses, it left no alternative location to assemble other than on the sidewalks and walkways (thus impeding the flow of traffic).

I did not see any protesters doing anything remotely violent. No chants were directed at individuals. The protest had the energy of a pep rally, not a riot. Despite this, the students had already received orders to disband due to “Disorderly Conduct” and “Rioting.”

Shortly after I arrived, Texas State troopers (many on horses) began pushing the protesters back further, off the sidewalks and onto Guadalupe Street. Mind you, Guadalupe Street was in no way closed off. Dozens of people were forced into oncoming traffic by DPS, when suddenly the troopers disappeared, and most of the protesters got out of the busy road and went right back to the south lawn where the whole protest had begun in the first place.

Witnessing all of this was no shock to me, but the hypocrisy from Texas state government and University administration was clear. It’s not real freedom of speech if you can’t say what the authorities disagree with.

I’m no Hamas supporter. Far from it. It’s heartbreaking to see that the energy of these activists is being wasted on supporting a destructive foreign conflict instead of defending freedom and justice here at home.

For those of us who have spent our lives fighting for liberty, defending our freedoms here is much more important than owning our tribal political opponents. Which is why it is so important to defend the rights of students to peacefully protest, no matter what side they’re on.

Just a few years ago, to the applause and support of conservatives, Greg Abbott passed a campus free speech bill: signaling to the world that Texas was going to be prioritizing their students’ rights to freedom of speech. Now that students are protesting something the governor and his supporters disagree with, their means of protest are restricted and they are being violently shut down.

This reminds me of the political atmosphere of 2020: the same liberals who were screaming at us freedom-minded people to stop protesting lockdowns were happily supporting massive, violent gatherings in support of BLM and others. The same conservatives who were raising the alarm about anti-pharma researchers being raided by the FBI celebrated black-van pickups of communist protesters in Portland.

Each time either political tribe is challenged for having a double-standard there are many arguments as to why one is different from the other. “Your side is killing people, my side is fighting for justice.” While it often seems obvious to us that we’re on the side of the angels, it’s imperative that we remember who the Bill of Rights was created to restrain: the soldiers on horseback. The power of censorship is more dangerous than the people we disagree with.

I have spent my adult life fighting for people’s freedom to speak. I defend this right so freedom-minded people can stand against tyrannical lockdowns or gun grabs. But this means I must defend the rights of those I disagree with.

We’ve reached a breaking point where every legitimate avenue for students to protest is being taken away, and students have been backed into a corner where the options are to stay silent or get arrested–a dangerous place to put the young people of this country. I might not agree with what they’re saying, but I will fight to the death for their right to say it.

Kirby is the founder and CEO of Student Rights Incorporated, whose mission is to give people tools to be politically effective. He lives in Austin