Students and Alumni Rally Against Trump Compact
By Nicole Vargas
Reporting Texas
Rally attendee holds ‘DO NOT SIGN’ poster in front of University of Texas System headquarters in Austin, TX., Nov. 19, 2025. Nicole Vargas / Reporting Texas TV
A small group of UT Austin students and alumni gathered outside the University of Texas System headquarters Wednesday afternoon for a “Reject the Compact” rally.
Organized by Students for a Democratic Society, attendees at the rally urged university leaders to refuse the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”
“This compact endangers everything that the university stands for in terms of academic freedom and integrity.” UT alumna Carrie King said.
The compact was sent to nine universities, offering more federal funding with the implementation of new guidelines. The list includes capping international enrollment, defining sex as strictly male or female, and striking down any actions or speech against conservative views.
“Clamping down on free speech unless that speech agrees with certain peoples’ agendas,” UT alumna Gina Fuentes said. “It’s dumbing down universities and institutes of higher education.”
Students also worry that this compact would force UT to consolidate academic courses on gender and ethnic studies.
“It’s important to learn about gender studies, it’s important to learn about ethnic studies,” said Ellie James, member of Students for a Democratic Society. “Those are crucial parts of why UT is so spectacular and why we are a leading pillar of education in the world.”
For students like Raul Ernesto Longoria De Luna, the curriculum has been fundamental to navigating personal identity.
“I’m a colonized indigenous person,” Longoria said. “I never heard of ‘mestizaje’ before, until I got to UT, learning about my identity.”
UT is the only university that has remained completely silent about its stance on signing the deal. The deadline to make a decision is Friday, Nov. 21, and student concerns are growing as the day approaches.
“I think this compact should have been rejected on the first day,” Longoria said. “I think there ought to be a public meeting from the provost and the president, with staff and students, protecting their voices and what they’re interested in studying.”
As students call for transparency from leaders, they hope that their voices are heard in numbers.
“I don’t think it does a service just to accept what’s being shoved down our throats,” Longoria said. “For us to show up in masses like this, it really means a lot.”