Public records revealed

You can find all Texas Public Information Act documents released by The Retrograde here.

The first 2,000 pages of public records requested by student journalists at UTD reveal rapid changes to university procedure, alumni outrage, ridicule of students and administration’s disregard for transparency.  

On May 1, 2024, 21 students, professors, alumni and community members were arrested when police raided a peaceful protest at UTD. Since then, students, faculty and civil rights organizations have heavily criticized UTD’s use of violent force to shut down student activism. Campus administrators have been silent in the face of this outrage and ignored multiple requests from student and community journalists seeking information. One schoolwide email sent May 1 at 8:42 p.m. and President Richard Benson publishing an opinion piece justifying law enforcement’s use in the Dallas Morning News is all administrators have publicly said about the May 1 arrests as of this article’s publication. 

UTD’s former student publication, The Mercury, began fundraising July 15 to pay the $2,904.30 cost to access public records regarding the events before, during and after May 1. After successfully paying the fee, student journalists received four batches of documents containing communications sent to and shared between university officials, with more on the way. After The Mercury’s dissolution, The Retrograde continued receiving and analyzing the documents.  

The Retrograde has not been told the total number of documents it will receive, because the Office of Legal Affairs stated it sends each document batch as it compiles them. The next batch is scheduled to arrive April 30.  

Less than 24 hours after the “UTD 21” had been released from Collin County Jail on bond, campus administrators made changes to the guidelines which govern how students can demonstrate on campus.` 

At 11:55 a.m. May 3, Dean of Students Amanda Smith emailed a group she referred to as “Student Leaders” of activist organization Students for Justice in Palestine with a bulleted list of guidelines related to UTDSP5001, UTD’s policy on speech, expression and assembly, that she said she had previously sent them in October. The guidelines are not the text of UTDSP5001, and the Dean of Students Office said in a message to The Retrograde that the intent of guidelines is to provide more specific procedures and examples than those found within official policy. The Retrograde reached out to SJP officers who were able to provide a copy of the rules Smith sent in October 2023. Despite Smith’s claim that the guidelines document she sent on May 3 was what she had previously sent to SJP, the two documents differed. The May guidelines had new, specific language related to the May 1 encampment. 

The Retrograde reached out to Smith and the Dean of Students Office with questions regarding inconsistencies between the May 3 attachment and the information students had received in October. While Smith did not directly respond for comment, UTD officials via the Office of Communications responded by email with a general statement on the matter. 

“While the two documents are not identical, the intent of the changes to the May 3 document was to provide further information on university policies governing speech and assembly,” the email read. “There were no changes to the policy between October and May. We are happy to meet with students if they have questions or concerns or if they want additional information on policies and procedures.” 

At the time of Smith’s May 3 message to SJP student leaders, UTDSP5001 had been last changed on May 11, 2020. As of publication of this article, the policy was last updated June 21, 2024. The guidelines themselves underwent a series of revisions immediately before Smith communicated with the student leaders. 

On May 3 at 9:58 a.m., Smith sent Student Union Director Dan Goodwin an email containing a document titled “Assembly guidance.docx,” which is identical to the physical copy SJP received in October. 

At 10:22 a.m., Goodwin responded to Smith with an email saying, “added to reflect signs/banners/flags affixed to poles” and attached was a document titled, “Assembly Guidance (1).docx,” which was redacted by the Office of Legal Affairs. 

At 11:23 a.m., Goodwin sent Smith, Vice President of Student Affairs Gene Fitch and Associate University Attorney Jenny Henry an email with the subject line “Updated Guidelines.” Goodwin said, “[Assembly Guidance (1).docx] attached for final review.” This attachment was also redacted. 

At 11:48 a.m., Goodwin sent Smith, Fitch and Henry “Assembly Guidance (1).docx” with the subject line “Minor Updates to Guidelines.” This attachment was also redacted. 

Several things changed between the initial October draft of the document and what the office of Student Affairs prepared. Notable changes include: the addition of two completely new bullet points, an expansion on the sign policy, a change to an example provided of what cannot be said at a protest and the specification that “tents and barricades” are not allowed, something previously unspecified by the guidelines and not mentioned explicitly in UTDSP5001. 

A student representative of SJP said the organization believes administrators are using their bureaucratic power to limit pro-Palestine protests and expression on campus. The core of SJP’s activities revolve around compelling UTD and the UT System to divest from major weapons manufacturers that support Israel’s war effort in Gaza. 

“We as a collective of students do not require administration’s permission to demonstrate,” the SJP representative said. “A protest with permission is just another student event. These guidelines and the unannounced changes to them are just another way administrators try to exert control when they fear that student organizations will act as student movements.” 

The public records also include emails from UTD alumni, community members and faculty addressed to campus administrators asking for clemency to be provided toward the peaceful protesters, for the university to drop its legal charges against arrested students and faculty and expressing dissatisfaction with university leadership.  

The records also contain several ignored messages from over a dozen journalists during and after May 1. These attempts to gain any comment from university officials included but were not limited to reporters from the Washington Post, NBC5, Telemundo, CNN National, ABC National, NBC National, KERA, KRLD, CBS National, Agence France-Presse and The Mercury.  

Also present in the records are emails between UTD law enforcement. Former UTDPD chief Larry Zacharias emailed current chief Brent Tourangeau and captain Adam Perry on May 2 at 1:01 p.m., writing that the three professors arrested May 1 “should be terminated.” 

In response to official complaints filed against UTD’s University Emergency Medical Response Director Sheila Elliot regarding her prohibition on UEMR volunteers participating in campus protests, Zacharias messaged Tourangeau and Perry to remark that not protesting is part of public service and that “if that’s not what you want or believe, you should not serve in a public safety capacity nor should you pursue the medical profession.” 

The Retrograde is investigating why Zacharias, who retired Jan. 31, 2023, still has access to internal forms such as the UEMR grievance form, which community members used to criticize Elliot.  

The documents also reveal students filing complaints and expressing concerns with how pro-Palestine student activists were demonstrating on campus. The most in-depth of these reports is found in the meeting notes prepared by Associate Dean of Students Kim Winkler after she spoke with two redacted students, who were concerned about what Winkler wrote was “this antisemitic culture on campus.” 

Winkler said in her notes that the students shared examples with her of antisemitism they faced but did not officially report during the 2023-2024 academic year. Winkler said she encouraged the students to report their concerns but that they “do not have specific names, pictures, dates or times” for the incidents.  

In her notes, Winkler included a section asking the redacted students to define Arabic words with specific emphasis placed on “intifada.” According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, “intifada” means “the act of shaking off” or an “uprising, rebellion,” with specific context placed on the “uprising of Palestinians against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” Winkler’s notes translate the phrase “intifada intifada, globalize the intifada, long live the intifada,” as “wave of terrorists’ attacks in Israel against the Jewish community; keep these going.” “We are the intifada” is translated as “we are the killers.” “There is only one solution intifada revolution” is translated as “the only solution is to kill Jews.”  

The Retrograde reached out to Winkler with questions regarding these notes and the translation process used. As of publication, Winkler has not responded. The SJP representative said that campus administration has not asked them to define what terms like “intifada” mean before. 

“The most basic Google search is going to tell you that the word ‘intifada’ means ‘uprising,’” the SJP representative said. “An uprising is to rise up, to stand up. The path to liberation for Palestinians requires all of Palestine to rise up. Definitions like those in Winkler’s notes are a tactic used to redefine our language to fit your own narratives. It is a tactic of repression, which also shows an incredibly racist mindset.” 

More minute findings from the first batch of information include almost completely redacted emails from the UT System Chancellor James Milliken discussing the May 1 protest with UTD administrators and an email chain congratulating the various police departments involved with the May 1 raid on a “job well done.” Included in the email chain were UTDPD Chief of Police Brent Tourangeau; Richardson Chief of Police Gary Tittle; Jeremy Sherrod, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director; DPS Director Steven McCraw; David Dean, North Texas Crime Commission Chair and NTCC Director Jim Hughes. Also present are the court orders for conditions of bond, provided by Collin County Jail to UTDPD for each of the UTD 21. 

Because of the sheer amount of content and extensive redactions, The Retrograde is unable to cover everything within these records. Of the 2,284 pages reviewed by The Retrograde, 1,091 were fully redacted by UTD, 455 were partially redacted and 738 were unredacted. The complete set of documents can be found on The Retrograde website. 

This article is part of an ongoing investigation into the events surrounding May 1, 2024. The Retrograde will provide more details as new information emerges.