By Rachel Stone
The Daily Texan
June 11, 2001

The University of Texas-Austin Police Department did not target UT professor Mia Carter during a Feb. 20 protest of an anti-abortion exhibit because she is African-American and female, a Faculty Council ad hoc committee has ruled.

While the May 17 report indicates that the UTPD used force against Carter, her race and gender were not found to be factors in the scuffle that left Carter with injuries to her face and neck. Carter, interim director of the Center for Asian-American Studies, allegedly violated UT policy by using "amplified sound" during the protest.

UT President Larry Faulkner formed the five-person committee in April at the request of the Faculty Council. The committee was charged with investigating the allegation that Carter was a victim of racial and gender profiling.

"We did not find evidence to support that allegation," the report states. "The most plausible conclusion we can draw is that the campus police approached Professor Carter because she was the person using the bullhorn when they were instructed to re-enter the crowd and take the bullhorn."

On Feb. 20, approximately 200 members of the UT community gathered in front of Gregory Gym to protest a three-story-high Justice For All: Students for Bio-Ethical Justice exhibit featuring enlarged photos of aborted fetuses. When some of the protesters used a bullhorn to address the crowd, UTPD officers entered the crowd and asked them to stop. When they continued, staff members from the Office of the Dean of Students instructed the officers to re-enter the crowd and confiscate the bullhorn.

Carter received a cut on her forehead and several bruises, at least one student was thrown to the ground and one officer sustained a knee injury that required surgery, the report states.

Carter said she is satisfied with the report, to the extent that committee members took the allegations seriously, but the actions of the UTPD still disturb her.

"What happened out there was shocking and completely unnecessary," Carter said. "Campus police should never be directed to use force against non-violently protesting students, faculty and staff."

The committee, chaired by Edwin Dorn, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, also made a number of recommendations to Faulkner after reviewing the incident.

The committee suggested that the University clarify its policy regarding the response to campus demonstrations, since no clear chain of command seemed to be in place.

"As staff from the Office of the Dean of Students, the Associate Vice President and the University Police consulted at the scene and determined upon a course of action, lines of authority and communication appear to have been blurred," the report states.

Neither UTPD Chief Jeffrey Van Slyke nor staff from the Office of the Dean of Students returned calls Friday.

Tom Dison, interim dean of students, declined to comment because he took over the position last week and was not involved in the Feb. 20 incident.

Other committee recommendations include publishing clear and up-to-date guidelines for the rules of protesting in front of Gregory Gym. The Gregory plaza is a designated free-speech area but is not a "rally area" under UT policy.

Faulkner said he is satisfied with the report and intends to take the committee's recommendations seriously.

"The committee has recommended that we consolidate all our studies growing out of the JFA into a single task force, and I will accept that recommendation and get that working in the fall," Faulkner said. "The chain of command question needs to be addressed right away, and I've asked Vice Presidents (James) Vick, (Patricia) Ohlendorf and (Pat) Clubb to work together in resolving that and producing a better structure."

The committee also raised questions about the University's policy on faculty and staff involvement in demonstrations and whether they can be disciplined in any way for violating the University's rules.

Members of the ad hoc committee include Dorn, Desley A. Deacon, director of Women's Studies, Michael H. Granof, professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Jan Summer, executive director of the School of Law and Barbara W. White, dean of the School of Social Work.