Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 14/09/2026“At a time when a major party nominee for statewide office can look at a diverse crowd of young Texans and see an invasion, students need more opportunities to understand one another. UT is giving them fewer.” 💯 02814
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichTexas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Hey @utaustin.bsky.social, when will President Jim Davis condemn this racist attack on UT students and defend our campus community??? 🤨 www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/u...nytimes.comTexas Republican’s Racist Social Media Post Draws CondemnationMany Republicans criticized the post, some in more direct terms than others. 0158
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichStars and Stripes @starsandstripes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026A civilian geography professor was fired from West Point for pushing back after department officials barred faculty from teaching that humans contribute to climate change.stripes.comWest Point professor fired after pushing back on limitations to teaching climate change, lawsuit saysAdam Kalkstein pushed back after department officials barred faculty from teaching that humans contribute to climate change, the lawsuit says. 49077463703
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichDr. Stephennie Mulder @stephenniem.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Wait till he hears who invented the reflecting pool en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian... 1125
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichTexas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 13/05/2026AAUP UT Austin Chapter Pres. Karma Chávez on faculty resistance to the closure of racial, ethnic + gender studies departments at UT: “it has felt like screaming into the void, righteous screams in solidarity with our colleagues around the state.” ✊ open.substack.com/pub/highered...open.substack.comPebbles in the Ocean (or Screaming into the Void)Karma R. 0196
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 05/05/2026And here’s a piece I wrote on recent staff purges at my university!open.substack.comWhat do Universities Lose When Staff are Fired en Masse?Julie Avril Minich, AAUP @ UT Secretary 121
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 05/05/2026New Substack offering analysis of the higher ed takeover in Texas - check it out! open.substack.com/pub/highered...open.substack.comRe-Segregating Higher EdWe welcome readers to The Higher Ed Advocate Substack by introducing you to the kind of analysis you can expect here. 010
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichPrasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD @prasad.bsky.social · 01/05/2026it’s shocking to me how urgently needed the AAUP is too many private and public institutions are ready to desecrate their legal, ethical, and professional commitments to academic freedom & excellence academia is far more ancient, enduring, and respected than government du jour — for good reason 093
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichJeffrey Yost @justcode.bsky.social · 30/04/2026"Ultimately, those who feel the effects of academic freedom most acutely are not a small group of educators, but the roughly 340 million members of the general public. Because academic freedom benefits us all, it also affects our national economy...our very system of representative democracy." 0179
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichHeather M. Haley @heatherhaleyphd.bsky.social · 24/04/2026If I attended Texas Tech right now for my Ph.D., the university would bar me from writing my dissertation about sexuality in the Cold War U.S. Navy. If TTU receives federal dollars, is this not illegal under the First Amendment? 37220
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichErin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 23/04/20261. In a draconian new policy, Texas Tech is banning writing about LGBTQ+ topics. The ban is the first don't say gay or trans policy to apply to students themselves. It applies to any thesis/dissertation moving forward. They are using AI to scan everything. Subscribe to support our journalism.erininthemorning.comTexas Tech Issues Ban On Students Writing On LGBTQ+ TopicsThe ban applies to theses and dissertations, and is expected to begin going into effect on a rolling basis. 411142655
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAnn Memmott @annmemmott.bsky.social · 06/04/2026Our usual gentle reminder to look at, every time you read, "But if we don't take even more away from people in need, there won't be enough for you!" Who has actually got nearly all the money? Not the group they've asked you to take money off. Think. Check. There's enough for everyone... 310436
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichTexas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 03/04/2026Julie Minich, AAUP UT Austin chapter executive committee member: “This timeline is really detrimental for students’ education..[It] effectively means that the primary consideration here is politics and not the education of students." www.kut.org/education/20...kut.orgFacing political pressure, UT Austin speeds up ethnic and gender studies consolidation to this fallIn a meeting with faculty, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts said changes needed to be made before the next Texas legislative session, which starts in January 2027. 0114
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichTexas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 27/03/2026📣 Today the Latinx Studies Association condemned the closure of the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at UTAustin. LSA Pres. David J. Vázquez emphasized the need to protect MALS in the “birthplace of our profession, of our field.” @utaustinaaup.bsky.social @utaustin.bsky.social 0189
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 29/03/2026The idea that “woke” professors indoctrinate their students is a smoke screen to enable a fascist takeover of the higher education system.kjzz.orgNew survey: Most college students say professors encourage them to share their viewsA new survey finds up to three-quarters of college students — of all political leanings — say their professors encourage them to share their views; it also found 2% of college students say they feel l... 020
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 19/02/2026My colleague!austinchronicle.comUT Head of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Speaks Out • The Austin ChronicleOn Monday, the Chronicle spoke with Lisa Moore, who has served since 2023 as the chair of UT-Austin’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department – a department that is now being collapsed with ... 02610
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 19/02/2026This one from a UT grad student is especially powerful.statesman.comThe University of Texas is clipping the wings of students of color | OpinionStudents from different races and ethnicities had to fight to find belonging at the University of Texas. Now they are being asked to shrink themselves, Mateo Vallejo writes. 043
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 19/02/2026Friends, I wrote a thing. This is a gift link, but if you are in Austin I hope you will consider subscribing to our local paper. Journalists are necessary for democracy!statesman.comThis is not how you improve education at the University of Texas | OpinionThe provost’s decision to eliminate key teaching and advising units threatens students, staff and educational quality, Julie Minich writes. 050
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichACLU @aclu.org · 18/02/2026BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide. This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity. 4664063910696
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 17/02/2026www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...statesman.comStudents can solve controversial problems. UT must trust them to do so | OpinionA vague proposed policy on “controversial topics” risks narrowing what students can learn at the University of Texas, David Gray Widder writes. 0148
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 17/02/2026www.kvue.com/article/news...kvue.comUT Austin students protest looming consolidation of race, ethnic and gender studiesUT President Jim Davis said the university will merge seven Liberal Arts departments, with no confirmed timeline. 0115
Reposted by Julie Avril Minich🌶 David Gray Widder @davidthewid.bsky.social · 15/02/2026University of Texas is set to curtail teaching of "Controversial Topics", per agenda item added before the holiday weekend for Board of Regent's meeting Thursday. Texas students deserve to learn to think critically about pressing concerns of our day. @aaup.org archive.is/rvbwz 12915
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichLisa L. Moore @lisalmoore.bsky.social · 15/02/2026Please read. The sidelining of scholars from our distinguished Department of Mexican-American and Latinx Studies, alongside the rise of billionaire-funded new programs in “civic leadership,” in a state that is 40% Latino, is a shameless assertion of white supremacy. latinopia.com/latino-liter...latinopia.comGUEST BLOG ALFONSO AYALA III ELIMINATION OF MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES AND LATINA/O STUDIES 02617
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 14/02/2026thedailytexan.com/2026/02/12/w...thedailytexan.comWhat students lose in the name of ‘efficiency’The Editorial Board argues UT’s decision to eliminate 4 student services departments will cause students and faculty to lose access to valuable resources. 085
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 05/02/2026My friend drew a thing and it’s beautiful!muthamagazine.comOn Wild Geese<!-- wp:image { 021
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 21/01/2026At least 24 staff members, with a wealth of expertise and institutional memory and whose jobs primarily exist to support the undergraduate teaching mission of the university, have been laid off. Why?thedailytexan.comOffice of Undergraduate Research, additional programs, to shut down at end of semesterFour student support programs — the Office of Undergraduate Research, Office of Community Engagement, Vick Advising Excellence Center and The Center for Teaching and Learning — will be shut down by th... 010
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichKelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 07/01/2026Everyone deserves shelter, food, water & healthcare. Even the people you don’t like. Even the people you feel made “bad lifestyle choices” Even the people who you don’t think “contribute enough” Every person should have their basic needs met This shouldn’t be controversial. 121073407
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 06/01/2026Who is on the board right now for the American Studies Association? Doesn’t ASA often use Hilton brands for their conference hotels? Hope they speak up!independent.co.ukHilton drops Minnesota hotel that banned ICE agents from staying in its roomsHilton issued an apology, saying the hotel would be removed from the company’s systems 000
Reposted by Julie Avril Minichderek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 03/01/2026people offended by $600 shoes are going to be in for a surprise when trump eventually reshores US manufacturing 803736392
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichI Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 23/12/2025I don’t mean to sound extreme, but I don’t think we should have torture camps for people with criminal records either. 281243105173
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichKate Jackson @katejackson.bsky.social · 07/12/2025“The Daily Nebraskan found in the leaked spreadsheet that every program eliminated appeared to be profitable…every program that the chancellor proposed eliminating generated more money from tuition dollars than the department costs to run” 0780371
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichRoxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social · 28/10/2025The depth of the shame of a country this wealthy and abundant allowing its people to go hungry is impossible to measure. The fact that a handful of people could fix this by paying their fair share of taxes while still remaining obscenely wealthy makes it even worse. 457182825765
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 21/10/2025💔This is a heartbreaking story. We support our students, whatever their identities, and we deplore the political environment that is making their experience in Texas public universities so painful—while also harming the learning environment for everyone. www.texastribune.org/2025/10/21/t...texastribune.orgTexas trans students fear identity erasure at collegeOnce considered a safe haven to explore identity, Texas campuses are invalidating and alienating trans people, students say. 098
Reposted by Julie Avril Minichwkow27news.bsky.social @wkow27news.bsky.social · 18/10/2025The battle for academic freedom and institutional sovereignty in higher education continues to play out as another university has rejected a White House offer for expanded access to federal funding in return for agreeing to a series of demands.wkow.com6 universities reject White House funding deal with attached demands. Multiple other schools have yet to respond(CNN) — The battle for academic freedom and institutional sovereignty in higher education continues to play out as another university has rejected a White House offer for expanded access to 096
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichDom Evans @domevans.electricmarshmallow.com · 14/10/2025I honestly wonder what's wrong with people that don't believe everyone deserves access to healthcare. Like what is broken in you that you don't see other people as human beings? 031
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichTexas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 10/10/2025MIT rejects the compact! 👏👏👏👏 06921
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP @aaup.org · 10/10/2025Professor Karma Chávez of @utaustinaaup.bsky.social explaining how the abolishment of faculty senates in Texas strips away democracy & any notion of shared governance in TX higher education. #defendhighered 16429
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 10/10/2025www.statesman.com/opinion/colu... Great opinion piece from UT Austin faculty member Lisa Moore. 👏🏽👏🏽statesman.comAfter 35 years at UT Austin, I hardly recognize my university | OpinionWhat was once a beacon of access and discovery is now fighting for its soul and mission as political attacks upend norms, rules and rights, Lisa L. Moore writes. 063
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichAAUP chapter @UT Austin @utaustinaaup.bsky.social · 10/10/2025“LGBTQ+ history has reshaped how historians understand American citizenship, the Cold War and the civil rights movement, among many subjects. Officials may succeed in driving LGBTQ+ history out of Texas’s public universities — but they will not erase the past. LGBTQ+ history belongs to all of us.” 0159
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichDorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 11/10/2025Reminder: the President may be allowing his secretary to undermine access to vaccines for others and promote anti vaccine misinformation, but he himself is fully vaccinated, including this year’s flu and Covid vaccine. In this, do as the president does, not as his secretary ‘s ACIP minions say. 516374
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichKim Weeden @weedenkim.bsky.social · 07/10/2025Academic freedom means that a course that teaches students to critique settler colonialism can be taught alongside one that teaches students to maximize shareholder value. Both are "biased" in their framing. Only one is currently at risk of being cancelled by state and/or institutional actors. 34717
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichKelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 30/09/2025Healthcare should be a basic human right. People shouldn’t have to fear bankruptcy for needing the ER. They shouldn’t end up homeless because they became ill. They shouldn’t have to “prove they matter” to get Medicaid. For profit medicine is cruel & punitive. Universal healthcare saves lives 251028357
Reposted by Julie Avril Minichjamelle @jamellebouie.net · 30/09/2025the president of the united states wants to use the american military to kill american citizens on american soil. that's the whole story! 6564923915331
Julie Avril Minich @professorjulie.bsky.social · 18/09/2025Showed up for my COVID vax appt today and got turned away. I answered the health risk questions honestly (not medically high risk, a caretaker for a child who is). Not surprised, but surprised how angry I am. How are people getting this vaccine? Are they accurately reporting their health status? 340
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichThe Humanities Institute at The University of Texas at Austin @ut-hi.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Join us for an evening with Mimi Khúc, who is, in her own words, "a writer, scholar, and teacher of things unwell," as she discusses her 2024 publication, dear elia: Letters from the Asian American Abyss. RSVP: bit.ly/4nm6YgZ @slothprof.bsky.social @vjohsu.bsky.social @professorjulie.bsky.social 111
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichGillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 13/09/2025I am having a hard time reconciling "Charlie Kirk was a fierce advocate of open dialogue and free expression" with "we must identify and persecute everyone who is insufficiently mournful"nbcnews.comAfter Charlie Kirk's death, teachers and professors nationwide fired or disciplined over social media postsAt least a dozen faculty and staff have faced fallout over insensitive comments online. 650187715081
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichGeorge Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 22/08/2025Masked raids are tools of fear, not freedom. Despite what this administration wants you to believe, they are not about “safety.” They are about letting ICE agents hide from accountability while carrying out inhumane acts. 502181245259
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichBradley Whitford @bradleywhitford.bsky.social · 23/08/2025If you’re a convicted felon and your character witness is your dear old friend, the convicted child sex trafficker and enabler of your other dear old friend, the most notorious raper of children in modern history, you’re definitely a total piece of shit. 250151253652
Reposted by Julie Avril MinichK.B. Wagers @kbwagers.com · 21/08/2025A delighted reminder that if you don't want people celebrating your death, don't be a huge piece of shit.media.tenor.coma close up of a man 's face looking over his shoulderAlt: a close up of a man 's face looking over his shoulder and winking gif 10698601145