Onlookers might spot an unusual scene Thursday at Texas Tech University: a horse-drawn carriage carrying an urn and books, trailed by veiled students and faculty.
The participants say they are mourning the “death” of academic freedom in Texas.
“In lieu of flowers, we ask participants to bring objects representing the blessed memory of academic freedom,” James Snoddy, founder of Raiders Against Censorship, said in a news release. “This is not symbolic exaggeration; this is a serious response to a year of decisions that threaten the integrity of our universities.”
Raiders Against Censorship is planning the protest with Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, an education advocacy group known as SEAT. The “funeral” will take place during the meeting of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents, where some students also plan to testify. The groups will be holding a “wake,” the procession and a press conference they’re calling a “eulogy.”
Texas Tech University System officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Students with SEAT said they’re providing participants with black hats, gloves and veils, helping to mark a “death by a thousand cuts” to academic freedom at Texas higher education institutions. Academic freedom is the right of faculty to teach and research the subjects they choose, according to their expertise.
Last month, Chancellor Brandon Creighton announced that the Texas Tech System is ending academic programs “centered on” sexual orientation and gender identity. His office also banned future graduate students from conducting dissertations and theses on the topics, and he placed teaching restrictions on the subjects, resulting in hundreds of course modifications.
“This work is about ensuring that every course we offer is rigorous, relevant, and directly tied to preparing students for success in a 21st-century workforce,” Creighton said in an April letter to the system’s presidents and provosts. “It is about reinforcing the integrity of our curriculum, strengthening public trust, and maintaining our competitiveness as institutions of higher education.”
The new rules come as part of a statewide push to root out alleged liberal “indoctrination” on college campuses. Creighton has been one of the leaders of that charge. As a former state senator, he authored the state’s bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs and hiring at public colleges and universities, and he wrote a bill limiting faculty influence in campus decision-making processes.