University faculty, armed with signs saying things like \u201cRIP Academic Freedom,\u201d gather multiple days a week at the Tower for a 15-minute silent walk protesting the recent department consolidations and cuts to the core curriculum, with the tagline \u201cLet Longhorns Learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
The faculty members are part of the UT chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The silent walks began on Sept. 21 at noon<\/a>, and will continue Monday through Thursday every week.<\/p>\n The organization \u2014 which advocates for academic freedom, faculty roles in university governance and labor rights \u2014 is protesting department consolidations in the College of Liberal Arts as well as the more recent changes to the core curriculum<\/a>, first presented by UT President Jim Davis in August.<\/p>\n Davis has previously said the new core curriculum would reduce the number of core curriculum designations for courses with \u201cnarrow\u201d topics. Davis said a changed core would stick to the spirit of general education.<\/p>\n Karma Ch\u00e1vez, chapter president and professor of Mexican American and Latina\/o Studies, is concerned that the new core will deviate from the general state curriculum and is worried it could make it harder to transfer in with credits from other Texas institutions.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents deserve an education of the first class from a university of the first class, and we\u2019re pretty worried that that\u2019s not the direction we\u2019re heading in,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said.<\/p>\n Jason Brownlee, a government professor and UT AAUP member, said he finds the changes to be unnecessarily disruptive. Brownlee said he was unsatisfied with the University\u2019s efforts to communicate with faculty.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a public university, the University should be in service of the local community, the nation and the world,\u201d said Brownlee. \u201cPart of that is University leaders speaking publicly, taking questions and having just regular, healthy dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n