The co-student presidents of the on-campus Jewish group, Texas Hillel, quickly alleged that the student government violated its own bylaws, specifically Title 2, Article I, Chapter IV, Section 4.8 of the Student Government Code of Rules and Procedures.

The bylaw states that the student government agencies’ activities are subject to “rules and regulations requiring that public advocacy statements and positions by Student Government members on issues directly related to the institution and its operations be formally authorized by the assembly.”

Sara Kennedy, the director of strategic and executive communications for the Office of the Dean of Students, claimed that UTSG did not violate this guideline. Instead, she argued that UTSG acts as a body serving as the “official voice of UT students” and not the voice of the whole institution.

[Lest anyone think this impulse is limited to the Poison Ivies, be sure to read this report in full. The student government at UT-Austin has responded with sophistry to the core complaints, which assert that the officers of the student government were not properly authorized to conduct their pro-Hamas demonstrations. Of course this is Austin, which means it’s not *really* Texas. (I’m mostly kidding. Mostly.) — Ed]