A Texas university removed its unique public billboards after students used them to share thoughts on Gaza war
A Texas university removed its unique public billboards after students used them to share thoughts on Gaza war
The University of Texas at Dallas replaced three boulders — known as the Spirit Rocks — with trees, citing “extended political discourse.” Students say the quirky public square is a frequent venue for political messaging.
It's clear the Texas Tribune has picked a side from inserting an adjective into "The Oct. 7 terrorist attack, and ensuing assault on Gaza ..." I have very little remaining faith in U.S. media, corporate or otherwise. If you need a narrative with a clearly defined "good" and "bad" side, you probably aren't going to get much out of a Gaza story in the first place.
Imagine! "Extended political discourse" on a university campus. Can't have that!
12has picked a side from inserting an adjective into "The Oct. 7 terrorist attack, and ensuing assault on Gaza ..."
How is that "picking a side"? It's possibly the mildest neutral way of writing about what happened, as opposed to something like "The Oct 7. freedom fighter operation, and ensuing pacification of Gaza", or similar.
16"The Oct. 7 attack."
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Could you elaborate on what issue you take with that headline? Genuinely confused here.
4Not the hed. The adjective in the body.
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Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers banned diversity, equity and inclusion offices at Texas’ public universities, which they argued limited free speech on college campuses.
If that's not some fucking frightening irony, I don't know what is.
And now the removal of a platform used for the simple exchange of ideas?
Scary shit.
9The university replaced the rocks with trees? Paint the trees instead!
9🤖 I'm a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:
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For years, three large lumpy rocks bedecked in bright paint announced events or bore symbolic messages at the University of Texas at Dallas — a cornerstone of campus life.
In a Monday statement following the removal of the rocks, the university affirmed the importance of free speech and said the recent paintings related to the Middle East conflict strayed too far from the original purpose of the public message board.
“The spirit rocks were not intended to be a display for extended political discourse, and because painted messages have been negatively impacting people on and off campus, our best solution was to remove them,” read the statement.
The following day, Benson responded to the resolution, acknowledging the pain felt on both sides of the conflict and asked the campus to “rededicate ourselves to presuming good faith on the part of others and to listen with kindness and empathy.”
Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers banned diversity, equity and inclusion offices at Texas’ public universities, which they argued limited free speech on college campuses.
And the rocks — caked in years of paint, which serves as a special place for student groups of color and the LGBTQ+ community to share their message — are no longer part of campus life.
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