atxresists – Autonomedia

On Monday, February 13th, 2017, students and workers at the University of Texas at Austin awoke to find fascist propaganda and graffiti across West Campus and Campus. Flyers calling for the destruction of Muslims, the outing of undocumented immigrants, and the reclamation of “white pride,” associated with the group American Vanguard—a white nationalist organization—were plastered on poles, newspaper boxes, and statues across campus. Graffiti of the N-word, celtic crosses, and swastikas were spotted in West Campus. Students from the night prior reported seeing a small group of people putting up the flyers. This was not the first time such flyers had gone up; neo-Nazi Identity Evropa stickers had been spotted on a few occasions in the fall semester and were destroyed by anti-fascists. This was, however, the most visible round of fascist flyering on campus.
And this time, due to the mass outrage among the student body, the University was forced to respond. In the response the University made clear that it cares more about catering to the interests that fund and support it (including white supremacists and Trump supporters) than it does about protecting students. In its statement, the University stated that it had removed the posters simply because they violated rules regarding the posting of flyers. The University’s insistence that it “vigorously supports free speech” sent a chilling message: had this been a registered student organization putting up flyers in more “legitimate” places, the University would defend the platform for these fascists to spread their messages against students. The statement from J.B. Bird, Director of Media Relations for the University, furthermore fails to name the fascistic nature of these flyers, only labelling them as “political messages aimed at immigrants, minorities and Muslims,” normalizing the genocidal politics of fascism as a valid political position. Fenves’ letter called for “robust discussions and debate,” as though students of color, Muslims, and immigrants should be forced to debate for their own humanity against those who wish to destroy them. The University has made clear that it believes genocide could or should be simply another option on a ballot to have “enlightened debate” over.

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23/01/201720/01/2021

Navigating Our Way Out: Report-back from J20 demonstrations in Austin, Texas

Originally published by the Autonomous Student Network at UT Austin

On January 20^th, students, workers, and radicals of all stripes—mainly Maoists and anarchists—took to the streets to inaugurate Trump’s regime with renewed militancy. For some, the day began early with a strike by fast food workers and members of Austin Socialist Collective and Fight for 15. Slightly later in the day came some of the most visible protests. A student walkout had been planned for 12:15, scheduled to meet in front of the UT Tower. While some student organizations were setting up for the event, members of the Revolutionary Student Front and Autonomous Student Network rallied in West Campus a few blocks away from the university and took to the streets with a group of about 20 radical students. With multiple megaphones, banners, and flags displaying anarchist, maoist, and anti-capitalist slogans, they grabbed the attention of students and set the tone for the day’s events as they marched down Guadalupe blocking traffic, and with NO police presence around to respond and parade them down the street.

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12/11/201612/11/2019

The Birth of ATXResists

Republished from ATXResist’s Facebook

Editor’s Note: On November 9th, 2016, a collection of student activists called for an anti-Trump mobilization in the immediate aftermath of the election. The first of the anti-Trump mobilizations in Austin, it was also one of the most radical in its politic and messaging. Three days later, this statement was published by the organizers, announcing the formation of ATXResists as a coalition–of students and community members committed to combating Trump and the world that produced him. In the following weeks, a series of meetings would give form to a stronger, primarily student coalition that would introduce new forms of militant student activity at UT for the next few months. We republish this initial statement now as part of our Archiving project, to preserve the historical memory of this organization and its accomplishments (as well as its limitations) so that they may inform current and future organizers on and off campus. This will be the first in a series of entries highlighting ATXResists in particular.

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