This article was updated on Feb. 6 at 4:53 p.m. with a response from the Alamo Colleges District to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression letter, and again on Feb. 7 at 5:10 p.m. with a response from the SAC President.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a public letter to San Antonio College (SAC) and Alamo Colleges District (ACD) leadership on January 23 that expressed concern SAC President Naydeen González-De Jesús and SAC Vice President for Academic Success Cassandra Rincones had violated the First Amendment rights of faculty and students related to a proposed “Teach-In for Palestine” event on campus.
Graham Piro, a program officer on FIRE’s Campus Rights Advocacy Team, wrote the letter to SAC.
“When [the Teach-In for Palestine event] was about to start, it was effectively canceled by an administrator at the event who gave reasons that were, frankly, a little confusing,” he said. “Potentially, that there was some confusion over the name of the event and that, more concerningly, the use of the word Palestine had caused student discomfort.”
FIRE’s letter raised concerns that González-De Jesús and Rincones may have engaged in viewpoint discrimination and compelled speech, both of which violate the First Amendment. The FIRE letter has not been previously reported.
FIRE, a free speech organization founded in the 1990s focused on campus free speech, requested a response from SAC and ACD by no later than February 6. ACD did not respond to TPR’s request for comment about whether it would meet that deadline.
The FIRE letter and TPR’s review of internal communications around this incident shine a new light on how González-De Jesús and Rincones approached the Teach-In for Palestine event.
ACD shared their response to the letter with TPR, written by ACD General Counsel Ross Laughead. The response did not directly refute the accusations FIRE made, but said ACD believed colleges had the right to initiate separate events with countering views.
FIRE Letter to San Antonio College
“That raises issues of compelled speech. And compelled speech is one where the protections of the First Amendment are the strongest against people being compelled to speak.” - Graham Piro
The letter from FIRE cites TPR’s reporting from December that students and administrators at the community college said their free speech rights had been violated by their president’s handling of the Teach-In for Palestine, an event faculty organized to educate students about Palestine and the ongoing war in Gaza.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign — a campaign the United Nations International Court of Justice recently found was in plausible violation of the Genocide Convention —has killed more than 27,000 people, the majority of whom have been civilians, since the October 7 attack where Hamas killed more than 1,100 people in Israel, most of whom were civilians.
The Teach-In for Palestine was scheduled to take place on October 24 until it was postponed and then rescheduled for October 30 with the new name “Palestine 101” under the direction of González-De Jesús and Rincones. Faculty and students complained they were given continuously changing reasons for the postponement, including problems with the name of the event, a desire to present a balanced view on the topic, and concerns over a speaker’s fee — also known as an honorarium.
The SAC Student Government Association (SGA) and a majority of the college’s Senior Executive Team (SET) sent separate “No Confidence” letters to ACD Chancellor Mike Flores calling for González-De Jesús’ removal over the incident. The letter from the SET members said González-De Jesús wanted to cancel the event entirely until Rincones convinced her to postpone it.
ACD declined to comment on the FIRE letter and internal communications about the incident obtained by TPR on the basis that a third-party investigation was ongoing, but did not share when that investigation would be finished or if it would be made public once completed.
“Regarding Alamo College District’s values, the organizational values and mission remains unchanged, and we are continuing our work to empower our diverse communities for success,” the statement said.
“From reading the public reporting, it did seem like this was a situation where there were some viewpoint based, disparate treatment,” Piro said.
He explained SAC’s First Amendment duties when it comes to events like the Teach-In for Palestine.
“One of the most important values that the First Amendment protects or promotes is viewpoint neutrality,” he said. “And what that means is when a group of faculty or students, or some sort of combination, on a public college campus like San Antonio College are trying to organize an event — especially an event where there will be political discussions [or] certain viewpoints expressed — the college has to treat that event the same it treats other events of a similar ilk.”
Emails reviewed by TPR obtained through open records requests showed that faculty initially planned to hold a series of teach-in events focused on Palestine, but changed course after the Teach-In for Palestine controversy.
“Faculty are exercising their right to organize expressive events on campus and they decide not to because they’re concerned about administrative action,” Piro said. “I mean that’s the definition of a chilling effect.”
Piro said the fact that the event eventually occurred several days later under the new name Palestine 101 is irrelevant to whether First Amendment rights were violated.
“That’s still harsh treatment for an event,” he said. “Colleges cannot require that events change their names or postpone events or treat events harshly just because of the viewpoints that are being expressed.”
He added that with potentially divisive topics, viewpoint neutrality from public colleges and universities is even more critical.
Piro said the second aspect of the reporting that concerned him was the apparent attempt by González-De Jesús to compel speech to ensure a balanced perspective, which would be a violation of the First Amendment.
“Let me give you some examples here,” he said. “Is an event where there’s going to be a pro-abortion speaker speaking required to have a pro-life speaker as well? Is an event where a pro-Black Lives Matter speaker is speaking also required to have an anti-Black Lives Matter speaker as well? This logic can be taken to really absurd extremes.”
Students raised the same concern that Piro highlighted, especially after statements González-De Jesús made during an October 25 meeting with SGA.
“If I invite someone from the KKK, I will also need to invite someone that completely does not agree with the KKK, right?” González-De Jesús is heard saying in a recording of the conversation. “So that we can show both points of view, not to dismiss one side or the other, but to include.”
Students, horrified by the logic, said it would require an anti-KKK speaker to be accompanied by a pro-KKK speaker.
ACD and SAC did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether this kind of balanced viewpoint requirement is ACD or SAC policy.
Piro said the bottom line was that organizers had no responsibility to ensure a balanced view, and González-De Jesús had no right to force them to.
“That raises issues of compelled speech,” he said. “And compelled speech is one where the protections of the First Amendment are the strongest against people being compelled to speak.”
González-De Jesús repeatedly called for a balanced view in emails and texts TPR obtained through open records requests.
An October 23 email from González-De Jesús to a staff member described her feelings about the Teach-In for Palestine flier.
“I’m supportive when we present events in a diplomatic way,” she said. “And this flyer, is not diplomatic.”
She said the one-sided nature of the flier was “dangerous and risky” and suggested the title be changed so that it “invites all perspectives.”
An October 24 text message from González-De Jesús to Flores described her concerns about the event.
“Furthermore, the speaker they were going to have on campus today is a controversial speaker on rights of Palestinians, the last name is Kaki,” González-De Jesús said, referring to San Antonio for Justice in Palestine founder Moureen Kaki. “This person has apparently been on the news before.”
Finally, she explains the reason she decided to postpone the event.
“We spoke with faculty about diplomacy and sensitivity during this time for all parties involved in this conflict; and reminded them that for true scholarly conversation to occur, a balanced perspective must be presented.”
The district chancellor responded to González-De Jesús’ text in agreement.
“Thank you for letting me know Naydeen [González-De Jesús],” Flores said. “I think anchoring to curricula and postponing are good strategies.”
ACD did not respond to requests for comment about on what basis Flores agreed postponing the event was a good strategy.
SAC Faculty Senate Censure Vote
“As a journalist by trade, I respect and honor freedom of speech.” - Naydeen González-De Jesús
Following the “No Confidence” letters from administrators and students, the SAC Faculty Senate voted on December 8 to censure both González-De Jesús and Rincones, arguing that they interfered with the Teach-In for Palestine event “out of concerns for controversy.” The Faculty Senate censure has not previously been reported.
The vote was 17 to zero, with six members who either abstained or were absent.
The letter, obtained through an open records request, accused the administration and Rincones in particular of pursuing HR investigations into faculty organizers of the Teach-In for Palestine event that proceeded “unfairly and unethically” and in a manner that “can severely undermine academic freedom.”
In González-De Jesús’ statement to the campus community on November 21 explaining the decision to postpone the Teach-In for Palestine event, she said it ultimately came down to the question of the speaker’s honorarium — a fee that the college sometimes pays to speakers who come to campus — which she said had not been resolved before the event was planned to occur.
The letter from the Faculty Senate said faculty were given conflicting and changing reasons for the postponement of the Teach-In for Palestine event, and said faculty organizers never requested an honorarium.
“The planning committee organizers confirmed that the ‘Teach-In for Palestine’ guest speaker neither asked to be paid nor did the Teach-in for Palestine planning committee ask for any department or program to pay the guest speaker a fee for this event,” the letter said. “If such a compensation request was the impetus for the cancellation/postponement, it was based on a misunderstood communication between administrators and their teams, and that concern should have been verified before acting.”
Letters from the SGA and SET majority included similar comments about the honorarium. Kaki previously said she never asked for an honorarium, nor had she expected to receive one, for the scheduled Teach-In for Palestine event. She said she was ultimately paid a small honorarium provided by faculty — not SAC — after she participated in the subsequent Palestine 101 event on October 30.
An administrator familiar with the conversations said there was legitimate confusion about whether an honorarium had been requested, but that González-De Jesús’ primary concern was the event’s content. The administrator, who TPR is keeping anonymous over their concerns of retaliation, said the first time they heard González-De Jesús use the honorarium as the reason for the event’s postponement was her November 21 email.
The Faculty Senate censure letter, which Faculty Senate President Jennifer Caraway made clear in a December 20 email to González-De Jesús was not a “No Confidence” vote, said both students and faculty had been subject to “intimidation and/or questionable reprimands,” and urged the SET to make specific steps to resolve faculty concerns.
The letter urged the following: written apologies from González-De Jesús and Rincones; semesterly meetings between the SET and Faculty and Staff Senates; adherence from college administrators to — and a public recognition of — academic freedom; annual trainings for SET in ethical leadership styles, unconscious bias, and compassionate communication; the establishment at SAC of education weeks for Indigenous groups, and in particular a Palestinian Education Week; written policies on HR’s role and the exact procedure for disputes between the SET and faculty to ensure due process; the hiring of an Ombudsperson to act as a neutral third-party to mediate between the SET and faculty; and a written statement responding to each of the Faculty Senate’s resolutions within 30 days of receiving the letter.
It is unclear whether the Faculty Senate ever received a full response to their requests.
González-De Jesús responded to Caraway’s email, which included the censure letter, on December 21.
González-De Jesús used the majority of that email to deny that she played any major role in the postponement of the Teach-In for Palestine event or its aftermath.
“Based on this, may I suggest that ‘request by President Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús’ throughout the document be reconsidered by appropriately indicating the supervisor’s name; or add a generalized statement that addresses ‘the administration,’” she said.
González-De Jesús said the blame could not be placed solely on her.
“It appears responsibility falls on everyone (administration, staff and faculty) involved, to better improve communication,” González-De Jesús said in the email.
González-De Jesús added that, “As a journalist by trade, I respect and honor freedom of speech.”
González-De Jesús’ and Rincones’ Text Messages
“It really sends a message to the entire college campus that Dr. Naydeen [González-De Jesús] doesn’t care about these so-called 'sodomites' and that she is willing to not intervene when somebody calls us things like that and then invokes the name of God doing it." - Ethan Wilson
Public records requests reviewed by TPR included separate text correspondences involving González-De Jesús and Rincones related to the Teach-In for Palestine event and the students involved.
On December 6, González-De Jesús sent a text to an individual not associated with ACD that expressed her concern over a December 5 ACD Board of Trustees meeting where multiple students from SAC’s LGBTQ organization spoke negatively about her actions related to the Teach-In for Palestine event.
“I’m carrying a heavy burden that I pray will lead to God being glorified,” González-De Jesús said in the text message. “Three young men, all from the lgbtq community stood up in front of the board committee of the whole [board] last night and talked falsely about me.”
The individual González-De Jesús texted responded empathetically.
“I just watched the video from last night. They are really making this Palestine event a big deal when it came to pass. You didn’t prevent the meeting from moving forward!” they said. “These sodomites are angry and it’s because they oppose the spirit of the true and living God.”
Ethan Wilson was one of the students who spoke at the board meeting. They said the use of the term “sodomite,” unchallenged by González-De Jesús, was stunning.
“That’s insane. Wow, I mean, I’m sorry my reaction here is — I’m speechless. So I’m defaulting to pure what the f—?” Wilson said. “Wow, can I get a second to process this?”
They said the messages were revealing.
“This just kind of confirms what we had been feeling all along,” Wilson said. “This sort of sense of, for whatever reason, these people are out to get us. I guess in our naivete, we had assumed that it was because of things like power and maybe perhaps influence, but now it’s just — gosh I don’t even know the term for it — religious zealotry? Hatred? Stupidity?”
Wilson said the messages were one more reason that González-De Jesús should not be SAC president and that they sent a much broader statement about who she is.
“It really sends a message to the entire college campus that Dr. Naydeen [González-De Jesús] doesn’t care about these so-called ‘sodomites’ and that she is willing to not intervene when somebody calls us things like that and then invokes the name of God doing it,” Wilson said.
In a statement made the day after the publication of this article, González-De Jesús said she “categorically denounce[s]” anything the individual who used the term “sodomites” wrote that was distressing or hurtful to the LGBTQ+ community.
She also affirmed her commitment to LGBTQ+ students, and said she no longer associates with the individual who sent those messages.
“Upon receiving [the message], I spoke with that person and cut ties,” González-De Jesús said in the statement. “I have done this on several occasions in the past when faced with a direct affront to my values of compassion and respect for all.”
Messages reviewed by TPR and obtained through public records requests showed that González-De Jesús sent two additional text messages to this individual after they used the term “sodomites,” one later on the same day of the “sodomites” message and one on the day after.
TPR also obtained text messages between Rincones and a different individual not associated with ACD on November 9, where Rincones described the conversation she had with students and faculty when she showed up in person to ensure the Teach-In for Palestine event was not held on October 24.
Students and faculty had previously said that Rincones had made insensitive statements during an argument about changing the name of the event. Rincones describes that argument in her own words.
“When I was talking to students and telling them to calm down about being upset about cenceling the event. They were upset about a title on a flyer. I said ‘is this the hill you want to die on? The content is more important than the title,’” Rincones said in the text message. “Well, that pissed them off because of course ‘people are dying on hills in Gaza.’ So now all day everyone at work is randomly saying [‘]is this the hill you want to die on’? to each other 😂😂😂”
The individual Rincones texted responded that Rincones “could do a cool thing.”
“Remind everyone that this is a conflict that pre-dates all of us -- and all of our oppressor ancestors,” they said. “And just listen.”
Rincones responded, “They would tell me to f— off.”
“Then tell them to f— off,” they said.
Rincones responded, saying, “I wish I could! I’m busy cleaning up this crazy lady’s mess of canceling the event in the first place.”
Wilson, who was also one of the students present on October 24 and who heard Rincones make the “is this the hill you want to die on” comments, said the messages made clear what students and faculty already knew.
“That’s exactly what that is saying — we have seen your concerns, we have heard your concerns raised directly to us during the event that brought about those concerns, and we don’t care,” Wilson said. “And we’re gonna sit there and we’re gonna tell you that we care and that we’re doing something about it, but we don’t care.”
ACD declined to respond to requests for comment about either of the messages involving González-De Jesús and Rincones.
The FIRE letter requested SAC and ACD’s response to acknowledge that the institutions “will approach campus events on viewpoint-neutral terms.”
The ACD response affirmed that commitment, said they “generally agree with your [Piro’s] description of First Amendment jurisprudence,” and noted that the event took place in a classroom, rather than in a designated common outdoor area.
“We understand that expressive events cannot be required to present a counterpoint at the same event, but we believe that this does not prohibit a school from initiating a separate event with a countering point of view to support its academic goals or values,” Laughead said in the statement.
Multiple faculty members who spoke to TPR said they felt a chilling effect was still in place at SAC and said they still wouldn’t feel comfortable participating in any events on the topic of Palestine under current leadership.
