The University of Texas at Austin has stayed silent as a critical deadline approaches. The Trump administration has asked UT and a handful of other universities to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence, a federal agreement that ties priority funding access to political conditions that would reshape how UT-Austin educates, admits, and disciplines its students.

Every other university offered this deal has already said no. MIT, Penn, UVA, Brown, Dartmouth, USC — all have refused to sign away their independence. But UT-Austin still hasn’t taken a stand.

Signing the compact would mean capping international enrollment, redefining sex under a rigid binary, and requiring ideological “balance” in academic programs. It would give the federal government power to punish the university for how students protest, what majors are offered, and who gets hired to teach. It would demand the university track and share student records with federal agencies. And it would force UT-Austin to repay federal and even private funding if it was ever found out of compliance.

This is not just about funding, it’s about freedom. Faculty and students are speaking out because the compact would threaten academic freedom, erase programs that represent decades of progress, and impose federal surveillance over what belongs in the hands of Texas educators.

UT-Austin is a flagship institution. It should be a leader, not a follower. Remaining silent while the White House pressures universities into accepting politically motivated controls is not neutrality — it’s compliance.

We call on UT President Jay Hartzell, Provost William Inboden, and the UT System Board of Regents to publicly reject the compact. Make clear that UT-Austin stands for academic freedom, student rights, and the ability to shape its own future without political interference.

Say no to the Trump compact. Say yes to a university that serves all Texans.

Photo: Manoo Sirivelu/The Texas Tribune