Category Archives: education

GUN FREE UT – ENOUGH! MONDAYS

Join with us to protest the continuing tidal wave of gun violence enveloping our country. We refuse to normalize this. On Mondays we gather at noon at the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the East Mall of the University of Texas Campus. We stand vigil in memory of the victims of gun violence, to hold our leaders to account for their inaction on this critical issue, and make visible our continued resistance. Inspired by Rev. William Barber’s Moral Mondays, by the Mothers of the Plaza del Mayo, by Thich Nhat Hanh’s nonviolent protests against the war in Vietnam, by Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence, by Cocks Not Glocks, by Black Lives Matter, by the brave students organizing across the country right now, and so many more.

Armed with reason and compassion, we will create a zone of peace.
Join us.  #GunFreeUT #Enough #GunFreeMondays

Bring your lunch, your signs, wear your GFUT T-shirts (or something orange) and join us!

WHERE: MLK Statue on the East Mall
WHEN:   Mondays from noon to 1pm
Facebook Event to Share 

Gun-Free UT Peace & Wellness Workshops on Wednesdays

On  August 1st and Wednesdays starting August 31,  please join us in practicing peaceful skills for reducing violence.  Gun-Free UT is offering a weekly workshop to promote a culture of self-care and personal safety on our newly weaponized campus.

Every Wednesday during the fall semester
Noon- 1 PM
Parlin 201

This week’s leaders:

Wednesday September 7th
12:00-1:00 p.m. in Parlin 201 (208 W. 21st Street)

Meditation
byTracy Firsching, Yoga Yoga teacher

Personal Safety
by Susan (George) Schorn, Undergraduate Studies, Sun Dragon Martial Arts Instructor

Discussion
by Lisa Moore, English, Women’s and Gender Studies, Gun-Free UT

Past sessions

Wednesday, August 31st
* Meditation by Matt Dieterich, School of Social Work, Dharma Yoga teacher
* Personal Safety by Susan (George) Schorn,  and Summer Cacciotti
* Discussion by Lisa Moore

Monday, August 1, 2016
* Meditation, led by Tracy Firsching
* Personal safety skills session,
led by Barbara Jones and George Schorn
* Conversation and strategy sharing, led by Lisa Moore

February 26 — Longhorn Cattle Call, Q & A with candidates on Campus Carry

Longhorn Cattle Call: Longhorns rounding up all candidates and elected officials for Q&A on SB11 and Classroom Carry

Friday February 26,  2PM
Details coming soon

Facebook Event

Graduate Students Against Classroom Carry and the Legislative Affairs Committee of the Graduate Student Assembly have come together once again to continue the fight against #SB11 and #ClassroomCarry. We are now pivoting from our focus on President Fenves to the Texas State Legislators who have imposed this law on a community that is entirely opposed to it.

Press Release: Gun-Free UT hosting teach-in on campus carry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: media@gunfreeut.org
Download PDF: Gun-Free UT Holding Teach-In announcement

GUN-FREE UT HOSTING TEACH-IN ON CAMPUS CARRY AT UT-AUSTIN

AUSTIN, TX, January 20, 2016 — As 2016 kicks off with more private universities rejecting campus carry, Gun-Free UT has decided to start the new semester at UT-Austin with a Teach-In this Friday, January 22, from 2-5pm at the Glickman Conference Center, CLA 1.302.B.

Organized by Gun-Free UT, the Teach-In will cover the multitude of issues around this controversial law and offer relevant insight, if not answers, to such questions as: What is Campus Carry? How will Campus Carry affect you & your friends? Will guns make you safer or less safe? How can you defend yourself without guns?
“This Teach-In is a phenomenal multi-disciplinary event that will bring together great minds from across the University to ask challenging questions and further assert UT-Austin’s historical role as the epicenter of the movement against guns on campus,” says Ellen Spiro, professor of Radio-TV-Film and an Emmy-winning filmmaker. “Guns serve no purpose on campus other than to intimidate. Gun-Free UT is committed to amplifying the voices of our community and to not be silent in the face of the injustice of Campus Carry. Guns and education do not mix.”

A number of esteemed UT-Austin academics, whose expertise runs the gamut from gun- control issues and psychology to women’s self-defense and African studies, will be part of the Teach-In, including Matt Valentine, Plan II coordinator and contributor to The Atlantic, Salon and other publications; Cole Hutchison, associate professor of English and member of the Campus Carry Working Group; Kevin Foster, associate professor of African & African Diaspora Studies; Becky Bigler, professor of pyschology and director of the Child Research Lab; George Schorn, author of Smile at Strangers and an expert on women’s self-defense; Kate Catterall, associate professor of design and teacher of a course on Campus Carry & Design; and Yasmiyn Irizarry, assistant professor of African & African Diaspora Studies. Also participating is Danielle Vabner, a UT undergraduate and sister of Noah Vabner, who was killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

***
Gun-Free UT is a broad coalition of faculty, students, staff, parents and alumni opposed to allowing guns in campus buildings. Since its founding in August 2015, Gun-Free UT has become a statewide movement, garnering national and international attention. Thousands at UT campuses from El Paso to the Rio Grande Valley to Tyler have joined in the fight to keep concealed firearms out of dorms, classrooms and offices. For more information on Gun- FreeUT’s legal position, click here.

Gun-Free UT Teach-in

Let’s start the new semester by continuing the conversation on Campus Carry with a Teach-In!

WHEN:   Friday, January 22, 2-5 pm
WHERE:  Glickman Conference Center, CLA 1.302B

Download printable flyer

Confirmed speakers include:

Matt Valentine, Plan II coordinator and contributor tor The Atlantic and other publications

Cole Hutchison, Associate Professor of English and member of the Campus Carry Working Group

Becky Bigler, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Child Research Lab

Matt Richardson, Associate Professor of English and African and African Diaspora Studies

Danielle Vabner, student

Yasmiyn Irizarry, Assistant Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies

George Schorn, author of Smile at Strangers and expert on women’s self-defense

Kate Catterall, Associate Professor of Design and teacher of a course on Campus Carry and design

Kevin Foster, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies

Schedule:

2:00-2:15   Opening Remarks and Introductions:   Ann Cvetkovich with Matt Richardson
2:15-3:30  What We Need to Know About Gun Culture:  Becky Bigler, Matt Valentine, Cole Hutchison, Yasmiyn Irizarry
3:30-3:40  Break
3:40-3:45  Introductions:  Lisa Moore with Danielle Vabner
3:45-4:45 What We Can Do About Gun Culture:  George Schorn, Kate Catterall, Kevin Foster
4:45-5:15  General Discussion

What is Campus Carry?
Do you have questions about the law?
How will campus carry affect you and your friends?
Will guns make you safer or less safe?
How can you defend yourself without guns?