BOOM. The AAUP is suing Texas A&M University System over their censorship policy that prohibits faculty from discussing topics & viewpoints related to race, sexual orientation, & gender. www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/... 1

While this is a HUGE WIN, there's more work to do. It's time to DOUBLE DOWN in pressuring Congress. They need to revoke the OMB Proposal. Members of Congress who fail to stop the Proposal will be out of a job January 3rd, 2027, we will make sure of it. 🧵

400,000 people told the Trump administration through public comments to stop politicizing research; research finds solutions, treatments, and cures that build a better future for us all. Thank you @macfarlanenews.bsky.social for reporting on this. macfarlanenews.substack.com/p/day-ahead-...

DAY AHEAD - My Daily Editorial Note

August 4, 2026

macfarlanenews.substack.com

“By embarking on a campaign of censorship, Texas A&M has abdicated its responsibility to support students’ right to learn & faculty’s right to teach. A university that censors Plato & other texts abandons its obligation to truth, free inquiry, & the public trust.” — Todd Wolfson, AAUP president 5

AAUP President Todd Wolfson: An Institution That Censors Plato is Not a Serious Institution of Higher Learning

Censoring Plato is an academic absurdity and a textbook violation of academic freedom. Barring a foundational philosopher who is a cornerstone of Western thought because his work touches on race or ge...

aaup.org

When we don't adequately fund public universities, and instead force students to take out loans, what we as a society are really doing is borrowing money from the younger generation—their hard-earned future income—to fund a necessary project that benefits us all: building an educated society.

Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · 2d ago

1. This is bullsh*t & an epically stupid policy completely detached from any empirical evidence: bsky.app/profile/mcop... 2. We could simply avoid this entire issue by <all together now> Funding. The. Damn. Public. Universities. Like. We. Used. To: bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Please fill out this survey and share your experience as a faculty member in the South.

Matthew Boedy@matthewboedy.bsky.social · 2d ago

The 2026 @aaup.org Faculty in the South Survey is live. If you are faculty in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas please take a second to fill it out: forms.gle/iLheVskd4wcA...

It's us! #BTHOcensorship #LetUsTeach

Texas A&M sued over teaching limits on race, gender

This is the second Texas university system sued over teaching restrictions in recent weeks.

texastribune.org

Our friends in Texas @texasaaup.bsky.social have a plan and it's to fight for academic freedom on every campus. Want to support them and the rights of teachers to teach and students to learn? Join your local @aaup.org or start one today.

Jonathan Feingold@jpygold.bsky.social · yesterday

Everything is big in Texas. Including the racism, bigotry & law breaking across Texas’ public universities. And the resistance. The lawsuits are here. First one hit Tech. This one hits A&M. UT just matter of time. @texasaaup.bsky.social @aaup.org

Everything is big in Texas. Including the racism, bigotry & law breaking across Texas’ public universities. And the resistance. The lawsuits are here. First one hit Tech. This one hits A&M. UT just matter of time. @texasaaup.bsky.social @aaup.org

Gautam Hans@gshans.bsky.social · yesterday

Another banger from @aclu.org @aaup.org www.aclutx.org/press-releas...

Another person has died in ICE custody—Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, who leaves behind a young daughter. The disregard for transparency, accountability, and basic humanity at detention centers like Delaney Hall is inexcusable. Delaney must be shut down. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Immigrant being held at Delaney Hall dies, marking 22nd death in ICE custody

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, was arrested in New Jersey in June, and died after a ‘medical emergency’, agency said

theguardian.com

“The American Association of University Professors is joined in the Texas A&M lawsuit by four faculty plaintiffs, each of whom says the policy prompted their course to be canceled or not offered.” www.chronicle.com/article/what...

‘What Are We Even Doing Here?': New Lawsuit Challenges Ban on Race and Gender Topics at Texas A&M

Plaintiffs included four faculty members whose courses were canceled or not offered.

chronicle.com

“If faculty are constantly looking for the exit door, that’s going to have devastating effects on the quality of teaching and research that takes place at that institution.” — Isaac Kamola, director of the AAUPs’ Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom.

Professors Notch Court Wins Over States Banning ‘Woke’ Teaching

Courtroom victories for public university professors over state teaching restrictions on race, gender, and unconscious bias are beginning to define the bounds of unlawful political oversight of higher...

news.bloomberglaw.com

BOOM. The AAUP is suing Texas A&M University System over their censorship policy that prohibits faculty from discussing topics & viewpoints related to race, sexual orientation, & gender. www.aclutx.org/app/uploads/... 1

BREAKING: We're suing Texas A&M over the university system’s unconstitutional censorship policy. Administrators are canceling or restricting courses that discuss race, gender, and sexual orientation. Public universities are meant for sharing knowledge — not banning it.

Thank you, @aaup.org, for continuing to fight for higher ed. "The answer to authoritarianism is organized resistance—not preemptive compliance." Their response to "Compact 2.0" is here: www.aaup.org/news/new-com...

New Compact Shows Resistance Works, but Fight for Higher Ed Isn’t Over

The Trump administration is back with a second version of its higher education compact. As with its predecessor, the best path forward is for higher education workers to organize and demand that their...

aaup.org

“As with [Trump's] first compact, the best path forward is for higher education workers to organize and demand that their administrations and governing boards reject Compact 2.0. There is every reason to believe we can do so again." - @rweingarten.bsky.social & @aaup.org's @proftwolf.bsky.social

AFT, AAUP Respond to Trump Compact 2.0

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten and American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson issued the following response to the Trump administration’s new higher education comp...

aft.org

So Trump and McMahon now are trying the velvet glove approach to get universities to submit. It’s just a watered down version of the compact they tried to impose last year. No self-respecting university should comply. 1/ www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...

After Colleges Reject ‘Compact,’ Trump Officials Try a Letter (Gift Article)

The open letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon fell far short of the attempt at a compact last year that dangled research money in return for embracing the Trump administration’s agenda.

nytimes.com

The Trump admin is back with version 2.0 of its higher ed compact. The reason is simple: The first one failed. Compact 2.0 lacks egregious elements of its predecessor. That’s a victory & affirms that the answer to authoritarianism is organized resistance—not compliance. www.aaup.org/news/new-com...

New Compact Shows Resistance Works, but Fight for Higher Ed Isn’t Over

The Trump administration is back with a second version of its higher education compact. As with its predecessor, the best path forward is for higher education workers to organize and demand that their...

aaup.org

Millions of Americans with student loan debt will soon pay far more in student debt payments because of Trump’s Big Tax cut last July -about 4k a year for a typical family with student debt. This is a betrayal of young Americans who need loans to pursue college or career www.ms.now/opinion/trum...

Opinion | America’s student loan system is a mess. Along comes Trump to make it worse.

Randi Weingarten and Mike Pierce: Ballooning student loan payments are Trump's latest contribution to the affordability crisis

ms.now

The 2026 @aaup.org Faculty in the South Survey is live. If you are faculty in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas please take a second to fill it out: forms.gle/iLheVskd4wcA...

2026 AAUP Faculty in the South Survey

The Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors [AAUP] and its partners in states across the South have been at the forefront of fighting attacks on higher education. To as...

forms.gle

As the report concludes, "Resistance has been, and will be, most effective — indeed, it may only be effective — when faculty members mobilize and take independent action." Download the full report below. 7/7 👇

Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance

Published July 2026.This report was prepared by a joint subcommittee of the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom andTenure and the Committee on College and University Governance and was appro...

aaup.org

If anyone is interested I added an accreditation page to the Georgia AAUP website with info about how faculty can fight the new state-run accreditation group www.aaupgeorgia.org/policy-resou...

Georgia AAUP - Accreditation

The Georgia AAUP has joined other AAUP leaders throughout the South to fight the creation of a state-run accreditaiton agency. The Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE) is an accrediting body ...

aaupgeorgia.org

Litigation led by Harvard AAUP forced Harvard itself to join a suit that restored billions in frozen funding. A parallel effort by the AAUP & @cucfa.org led a federal judge to bar the government from conditioning further support on new payments. 6

⭐️⭐️Open Letter Concerning the Tenure Denial of Dr. Iván Chaar López⭐️⭐️ “The future of academic freedom depends upon institutions demonstrating that difficult scholarship will be evaluated on its merits and that faculty governance remains a meaningful safeguard against arbitrary decision making.”

Open Letter Concerning the Tenure Denial of Dr. Iván Chaar López

The denial of tenure to Dr. Chaar López has become a national concern because it raises questions that extend far beyond one faculty member or one institution. Scholars across disciplines depend upon ...

actionnetwork.org

LFG

Often my academic friends ask how they can help when they learn how Texas is restricting teaching and denying tenure. The answer: Join AAUP. Your dues—small as they are (~$30)—help build collective power to fight for legislation, policy, and in the courts for students, faculty, & staff. Join us!

WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN. It's time to APPLY HEAVY PRESSURE. Call you Senators NOW: fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/omb... I know, everyone hates calling. But this is CRITICAL. Make the calls today! (Use our super easy autodialer tool linked above) www.politico.com/live-updates...

Top senators consider blocking Trump’s grant shakeup in spending stopgap

It’s now “up to leadership” whether to head off the controversial changes, Sen. Susan Collins said.

politico.com

“To demand that the AAUP remain silent about the political attack on academia is ridiculous. To demand that the AAUP should do nothing to fight for academic freedom is wrong.” #academicsky

Critics of the AAUP and the Delusions of Neutrality

The AAUP is not and must not be neutral in defense of academic freedom.

insidehighered.com

🧵on the AAUP endorsement of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate in the Michigan Democratic primary, the first-ever electoral endorsement in the organization's 110-year history. 1

“To demand that the AAUP remain silent about the political attack on academia is ridiculous. To demand that the AAUP should do nothing to fight for academic freedom is wrong.” #academicsky

Critics of the AAUP and the Delusions of Neutrality

The AAUP is not and must not be neutral in defense of academic freedom.

insidehighered.com