U of Texas students file civil rights complaint; school song creates hostile environment

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Students at the University of Texas at Austin have filed a federal civil rights complaint accusing the school of creating a "hostile environment" for Black students by continuing to play the "The Eyes of Texas" alma mater song, which they argue is racist.

The NAACP’s Texas chapter, university chapter and a group of anonymous students filed the complaint Friday with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, the Texas Tribune reported Tuesday.

The complaint reportedly alleges that Black students have been denied the full university experience because the song is an official part of that experience, being played after all sporting events "despite its racially offensive origin, context and meaning."

Friday’s complaint said the university failed to respond to racial harassment against students who opposed the song, violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and argued that the creation of a separate marching band violated equal protections afforded under the 14th Amendment.

Al-Nasser Lawal, a UT-Austin senior and president of the UT-Austin chapter of the NAACP, said talks between administrators and Black student groups had produced little results.

"As Black students, we kind of feel as if it’s not like our voices are heard," he told the Tribune. "The main objective of the administration and the campus is just to appease their wealthy donors so that they can continue to get that funding, and that they don’t really have our best interests at heart."

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