UT Students Rally Against Trump Compact, Urge University Leaders Not to Sign

By Destiny Lewis

Reporting Texas

Chanting “do not sign,” dozens of University of Texas students Monday protested the university’s potential support of the Trump administration’s college compact, a pledge critics say threatens academic freedom, diversity and freedom of speech on campus.

“One, two, three, four… We know what we’re fighting for. Five, six, seven, eight…We will not be sold today,” the marchers chanted.

Monday’s protest, organized by Students for a Democratic Society, was the second UT demonstration opposing the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” an offer of preferential funding for schools that agreed to follow the administration’s priorities.

 The administration offered the compact to nine schools, including Dartmouth College, Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seven of the nine have said they will not sign it, and one school is expressing reluctance. Only the University of Texas has signalled enthusiasm for the pledge, though it has not agreed to it, the New York Times reported Monday. These recent protests are part of a growing wave of student activism not only calling out the university leaders but state leaders too.

Students say the agreement could restrict academic programs and weaken free expression across the UT System. The deal calls for universities to eliminate programs that “spark violence against conservative ideas.” Institutions that do not comply would be at risk of losing benefits for a year.

 Several speakers Monday  accused university leadership of aligning with Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Republicans whose legislative agendas  have eliminated diversity and inclusion programs in Texas higher education.

 “This administration has become a mouthpiece for the bureaucracy of the state of Texas,” said Samaria Taylor, government and Black studies senior.

Many students at the protest said  signing the compact could lead to the consolidation or elimination of identity-based academic departments such as Black studies and women’s and gender studies. The compact requires universities to not consider race, sex, ethnicity, etc. in hiring, admissions and academic programing, and some fear it could endanger faculty and programs that teach those subjects. As protest organizers shared that information, students began chanting “Shame!” in response, echoing through the crowd.

 “Not only will UT be limiting the scholarship in these fields, but they are telling us that we are not worth studying,” Taylor continued.

Another speaker, Sean Filipe, a trans sophomore studying sociology and LGBT Studies, said the compact directly threatens their academic and personal identity. They said removing programs that focus on gender and sexuality studies would not only dissolve their minor but “define me out of existence.”

 “It’s easier for them if we aren’t real,” Filipe said. “If trans people are real, we can fight for our rights. We can convince others of our humanity, and they will fight alongside us.”

The speakers pointed to other universities that have already rejected the compact and urged UT’s new president to not agree to the terms. One speaker criticized the administration’s ties to state leaders, recalling past campus protests where students faced disciplinary action for speaking out. They questioned whether education had become “a product for profit” rather than “a tool for liberation” and called on students to “get angry” and stand with faculty and international students whose departments and funding could be at risk.

A first-year student, who identified herself as Sophia, said told the crowd that colleges that reject the compact “have more integrity than Jim Davis and the rest of the board if they decide to sign.” 

“Don’t sign our academic integrity away,” she said. “Don’t sign the independence of this institution.” 

University officials initially seemed to favor the compact. When the Trump administration offered the agreement, UT System Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife said, “We enthusiastically look forward to engaging with university officials and reviewing the compact immediately.”

But since then, university officials have not said they will sign the agreement.

Monday’s rally ended with students encouraging one another to continue organizing and applying pressure on administrators. “We cannot let this energy die,” one speaker said. “None of us are free until everyone is.”