UT launched a new Event Readiness and Response unit within the Office of the Dean Students to support students and organizations “events that may garner expressive activities,” Katie McGee, associate vice president and dean of students, said in an email Monday.

The new unit will also hold programs for students to educate them on their rights and responsibilities for demonstrations, according to the email.

“The Office of the Dean of Students is prioritizing fostering the development of empathetic citizens through creation of a new program on civic discourse,” McGee said in the email. “A core goal of this program is to provide students with the tools and strategies to manage conflict and engage in productive conversation on difficult topics.”

The new webpage for the unit includes information on when and where amplified sound can be used, guidelines for demonstrations and alternate ways to hold demonstrations including through Zoom or written declarations.

The new unit comes after days of pro-Palestine demonstrations in the spring were met with arrests and garnered national attention.

This is a developing story, and TSTV News will continue to update as information becomes available.