Tucson’s campus community is still waiting to learn whether University of Arizona’s leadership will sign a pledge to align with President Donald Trump’s political agenda in exchange for preferential access to federal funds — a decision many students and faculty say would threaten academic freedom.
President Suresh Garimella met in private executive session with the Arizona Board of Regents Oct. 17 — at the same time UA faculty, staff and students held a protest in partnership with the other eight universities the Trump administration originally sent the compact to early this month.
Arizona Luminaria reached out to UA and the board of regents for comment on the meeting’s outcome. Board spokesperson Megan Gilbertson said there would not be an announcement directly following the meeting. The university has not responded.
“The dubious language of this compact threatens to rope so many organizations like the [Black Student Union] and many other cultural orgs under the guise of not being American enough, of being un-American, threatening to punish us with a loss of funding, a loss of space, and a loss of recognition,” Brandon Rogers, president of the university’s Black Student Union, said in his speech at the protest.
The Black Student Union was one of the 18 UA campus organizations that collaborated to hold the demonstration. As a sophomore and astronomy major, Rogers said he sees how the Trump administration’s attack on funding has affected his department.
“The White House completely cut the means in which we fund the work that we’re doing here, which does not engender the most trust when it comes to anything that this administration would send to us to sign,” Rogers said.
Members of MECHA, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán, handed out free water as a crowd of around 70 people gathered around the fountain in front of Old Main.
Margaret Brooks, a UA alumni, came to support the anti-compact movement.
“I read the contents of it and I’m horrified that we have not said no to this sooner,” Brooks said. Brooks said stipulations of the compact like capping international students and the federal government’s scrutiny over compliance worry her.
Speakers at the protest criticized the university’s delay in rejecting the compact despite five other schools, including another public university — the University of Virginia — announcing their denials.
“We will march to the admin building with those values on our sleeves urging our university administration to resist, reject, and deny a compact that so many other universities have done so already,” Rogers said at the end of his speech.
The Associated Press reported that the universities still weighing the compact were asked to join a White House call Friday to discuss the proposed deal, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The people who shared details of the call spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting, according to AP.
RElated stories
From silence to rejection: How 9 universities are responding to Trump’s higher-ed compact
Responses from university presidents have ranged from forceful rejection to silence in the weeks since the White House asked nine prominent campuses to make sweeping… Keep reading
“How are we an enemy?” UA community speaks out against Trump administration compact
Kendall Wilde was enjoying her lunch by the University of Arizona student union when the chants began. “Fees go high, dreams go low. Garimella’s greed… Keep reading
UA leadership: “No decisions” on Trump college compact without input from faculty
As opposition mounts from faculty, students and state leaders, University of Arizona officials are assuring the public that “no decisions have been made” on whether… Keep reading
Lauren Tomanelli, a graduate student in the School of Anthropology, said she understands that the university is in a precarious financial position that may make the deal appealing.
“But I think that we need to bear down in the spirit of Arizona and find our way through this rather than be intimidated by an administration that acts not in good faith towards its own people,” Tomanelli said.
She said she hopes President Garimella is able to work with the board of regents to “bridge the financial gap that may be tempting Garimella into considering this.”
No decision came out of the board meeting as opposition from campus stakeholders, local and national leaders had mounted against the prominent U.S. universities sacrificing academic freedom and constitutional First Amendment rights in exchange for money.
Garimella released an unsigned statement on Oct. 9, recognizing “that this proposal has generated a wide range of reactions and perspectives within our community and beyond” and promising to keep the “community informed as this process moves forward.”
At a Faculty Senate meeting Oct. 6, the school’s faculty voted in favor of a resolution urging Garimella not to sign the compact.
Most faculty spoke in opposition to the agreement, questioning its constitutionality and infringement on academic freedom and First Amendment rights.
“In this compact, the faculty and the staff are requested to give up their constitutional rights such that the administration can possibly receive funding for their pet projects,” said Lucy Ziurys, a Regents’ Professor of chemistry, biochemistry and astronomy.
“This is extortion,” Ziurys said
The school’s labor union, the United Campus Workers of Arizona, released an open letter Oct. 14 urging Garimella to publicly reject the White House “Higher Education Compact,” calling it a partisan “loyalty oath” that would undermine shared governance and academic freedom. It called for the president to reject the compact by Nov. 7.
Garimella — along with eight other prominent university presidents across the country — received the compact by email on Oct. 1. The message states that signing and abiding by the pledge would result in potential benefits for the university, including higher overhead allowances, substantial federal grants, and other federal partnerships.
Garimella and the Board of Regents have until Nov. 21, the targeted signing date, to decide whether to abide by the compact, and they have until Oct. 20 to provide “limited, targeted feedback, with written comments” to the administration.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
