Social Work along with University partners plan protest march on campus

By Valerie Fields Hill

School of Social Work students, staff and faculty will show solidarity with demonstrators across Texas and the nation who are appalled by the killing of George Floyd and disturbed by the lingering effects of systemic racism.

The students, employees and instructors will march Monday across the University of Texas at Arlington campus.

The event begins at Noon on June 8. Marchers will assemble in the parking lot at the School of Social Work Complex, Building A, at 211 S. Cooper St., near the corner of Abram and Cooper Streets, in Arlington, Antwan C. Williams, Social Work Communications Manager said.

The group plans to protest for about an hour in front of the School of Social Work and march along Cooper Street to Mitchell Street, turn left, or east, then walk a couple of blocks along Mitchell before turning around and returning to the School of Social Work complex along the same route, he said.**

“We recognize the pain, fear, anger and sense of hopelessness students, alumni and many in our communities are experiencing right now,” School of Social Work Dean, Scott Ryan said.

Dean Ryan said Social Workers are in a position to demand and influence change and that part of their mandate is to stand strong against racism, hatred, bigotry and all forms of injustice.

“We are leading by example with organizing and having this protest against injustice and systemic racism,” Ryan said.

Next week’s event comes after nearly two weeks of unrest - protests, demonstrations, mass looting and arson - in major cities across the country following the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old father.

On May 25, a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, responding to a convenience store call about a man who had allegedly passed a counterfeit $20 bill, found Floyd sitting in the driver’s seat of a car in front of the store. He ordered him to exit and handcuffed him.

Later, Floyd fell face down to the ground, and Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Two other officers at the scene also held a non-resisting Floyd down. A pair of officers watched their peers without intervening.

The encounter, video-taped by a bystander, shows Floyd stating he can’t breathe, asking Chauvin to “please” remove his knee and, finally becoming motionless and unresponsive.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo fired Chauvin who, later, was charged with second degree murder – but only after protests, riots, looting and arson on the city’s South side destroyed blocks of grocery stories, salons, retail outlets and other business establishments.

Similar demonstrations – leading to thousands of arrests across the country - have since ensued in cities across the country and in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

Others from university Human Resources, the Center for African American Studies, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Division of Student Affairs, and the African American Faculty and Staff Association will also participate in the protest march.

** Protest location and march route is subject to change. For in-person participants, please monitor this page and our School of Social Work social media platforms for any updates. For individuals not able to participate in person, the event will be live streamed on the School of Social Work's Facebook page.

Safety Guidelines for Social and Physical Distancing due to COVID-19

We will follow all CDC, Texas Health Department, Tarrant County and the City of Arlington Health Departments and UTA rules, procedures and recommendations for this protest.

• UTA recommends community members follow CDC and public health guidelines, which are similar to what is recommended during cold and flu season, including:
  1. Stay home if you are sick and seek medical attention.
  2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
  3. Wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer.
  4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• All protest participants must wear and use proper face mask covering and maintain at least six feet (two meters) of distance between you and others who are not your partner and you live with (and know their status).

• If you don’t feel well, are immunocompromised, disabled, or have some other underlying condition or health concern, it might be best to stay home. If you are unable to participate in-person, we will also live stream the protest on the School of Social Work’s Facebook page.
• Signs and noisemakers are also particularly useful during protests right now, as they get your message across while reducing the chance that you're spreading COVID-19. 
• Wear comfortable shoes (closed-toe recommended) and clothing. Expected temperature/weather during the time of the protest is forecast for Partly Cloudy, 20% Chance of Rain and high of 93 degrees Fahrenheit.
• We are planning to provide water and some snacks. However, you should consider bringing your own as well.

Protest March Guidelines 

All attendees are requested to read and adhere to UTA Policy GA-PA-PO1, Prohibited Expression and UTA Policy GA-PA-PO8, Public Assemblies Without Amplified Sound.

Synopsis of information in the policies most pertaining to this planned protest march:

• We have received approval from the University for outdoor public assembly on this date and time.
• For this protest, no person or organization shall distribute or display on the campus any writing or visual image, or engage in any public performance, that is obscene. A writing, image, or performance is "obscene" if it is obscene as defined in Texas Penal Code, Section 43.21 or successor provisions, and is within the constitutional definition of obscenity as set forth in decisions of the United States Supreme Court.
• No personal shall make, distribute, or display on the campus any statement that unlawfully defames any other person.
• No person shall make, distribute or display on the campus any statements directed to inciting or producing imminent violations of law under circumstances such that the statements are likely to actually and imminently incite or produce violations of law.
• No person shall make, distribute or display on the campus any statement that constitutes verbal harassment of any other person. This section applies to all speech on the campus, including speech that is part of teaching, research or other official functions of the University. Verbal harassment may consist of threats, insults, epithets, ridicule, personal attacks or the categories of harassing sexual speech set forth by the UT Arlington Standards of Conduct Guide.
• Displays include posters, flyers, props, clothing, digital devices and vehicles.
• No person shall make, distribute or display on the campus any statement that offers or advertises any product or service for sale or lease or requests any gift or contribution, except as authorized in 11-400, Section 11-403, B, or by the Regents' Rules and Regulations.
• An essential part of higher education is to learn to separate substantive argument from personal offense, and to express even the deepest disagreements within standards of civility that reflect mutual respect, understanding, and sensitivity among the diverse population within the University and in the larger society.

What to do after the protest march?

Epidemiologists and health experts advise throwing the clothes you wore to the protest into the laundry immediately, or putting them somewhere out of reach until you can wash them.

Avoid shaking out any clothing or objects you brought to the protest, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns can disperse virus particles into the air.

After that, wash your whole body as thoroughly as possible. Wiping down any other things like face goggles or anything else you brought with you to the protest once you’re home is also good practice. The CDC has recommendations on how to most effectively disinfect various items here.