The University of Texas System\u2019s Board of Regents has unanimously approved a rule requiring its universities to ensure students can graduate without studying \u201cunnecessary controversial subjects,\u201d despite warnings it could leave them less prepared for the real world.<\/p>\n
The rule<\/a> also requires faculty to disclose in their syllabi the topics they plan to cover and adhere to the plan, and says that when courses include controversial issues, instructors must ensure a \u201cbroad and balanced approach\u201d to the discussion.<\/p>\n The policy, approved last month, does not define what qualifies as \u201ccontroversial\u201d or what constitutes a \u201cbroad and balanced approach.\u201d Opponents warned that leaving those terms undefined would force administrators to interpret them case by case, pressuring professors to avoid difficult material rather than risk complaints.<\/p>\n \u201cWill they [administrators] be experts in the relevant disciplines or will they just seek to avoid unpleasant publicity?\u201d Peter Onyisi, a University of Texas at Austin physics professor, said during public testimony from 10 speakers, a mix of faculty, students and alumni who all opposed the policy.<\/p>\n Board Chair Kevin Eltife said the lack of specificity came as the system tried to craft a policy that could work in today\u2019s politically charged environment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in difficult times,\u201d he said. \u201cVagueness can be our friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Other speakers said restricting controversial material would leave students unprepared for careers that require navigating complex, unsettled political and social problems.<\/p>\n \u201cThe job market is really tough right now, ask any undergrad,\u201d said David Gray Widder, a professor in UT-Austin\u2019s School of Information. \u201cWe can\u2019t do this to our students.\u201d<\/p>\n A civil rights attorney also warned the rule could invite legal challenges. Allen Liu, policy counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said it could lead to \u201cviewpoint discrimination\u201d and disproportionately affect Black students and faculty by discouraging teaching about slavery, segregation and other subjects central to Black history.<\/p>\n The UT System has had a rule for at least a decade stating faculty are entitled to freedom in the classroom but \u201care expected not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter that has no relation to his or her subject.\u201d<\/p>\n The vote came after UT-Austin announced it will consolidate<\/a> its African and African Diaspora Studies, Mexican American and Latino Studies, American Studies, and Women\u2019s, Gender and Sexuality Studies departments into a new Social and Cultural Analysis department.<\/p>\n More than 800 students are pursuing majors, minors and graduate degrees in the affected programs. At the time, university President Jim Davis said the reorganization followed a review that found \u201csome significant inconsistencies and fragmentation\u201d across departments in the College of Liberal Arts.<\/p>\n Over the last year, public universities have faced mounting pressure from state and federal leaders to address a perceived liberal bias. Under a new state law, Senate Bill 37, governor-appointed regents have more oversight of classroom instruction, hiring and discipline. That, coupled with conservative backlash<\/a> last fall over a gender identity lesson at Texas A&M University, has led the Texas A&M and Texas Tech<\/a> systems to adopt policies restricting how race, gender, sexuality can be taught.<\/p>\n The UT policy does not explicitly ban those topics.<\/p>\n Last year, UT-Austin was also one of nine universities offered preferential access to federal funding in exchange for agreeing to ensure departments reflect a mix of perspectives and promote civic values and Western civilization, among other requirements.<\/p>\n