UT Austin announced it's cutting several ethnic and gender studies majors, and faculty there are calling it the next step in a broader effort to gut what's left of those programs. That's a heavy move, and it lands differently when you're a student who just wants to build something real. We're not here to pretend college is just about job prep, but we also know that majors get cut for reasons that have little to do with what students actually need. When a university axes a field of study, it's not just deleting a few classes; it's deciding whose questions matter. That's a big deal, especially when you're on a campus like ours, where we're constantly told to find our people and do work that matters.
What strikes me is the timing and the pattern. This isn't a one-off budget trim. Faculty see it as part of a broader effort to shrink ethnic and gender studies, and that tracks with what we've been seeing across higher ed lately. Just this week, Heads Up, Cougs: New Academic Officer Survey Drops landed, and it's a reminder that administrators are making choices about what to prioritize, often without a ton of student input. And when you look at how Stanford Ad Policy Broken: AI Edits Raise Questions shows even elite institutions fumbling over transparency, it's clear that universities aren't always the steady, thoughtful places we hope they are. Meanwhile, Utah University Apologizes After Dropping College Republicans Probe reminds us that campuses are messy battlegrounds for free speech and political pressure. UT Austin's move fits right into that mix: it's not just about one department, it's about who gets to decide what knowledge is worth funding.
Here's my take: this is a warning sign for students everywhere, not just at UT. When a university cuts majors that help people understand power, identity, and history, it's telling us that some stories don't need telling. That's a practical problem for students who chose those paths, but it's also a signal about what kind of community we're building. At WSU, we pride ourselves on showing up for each other and learning by doing. We know that a degree is more than a paycheck; it's about becoming someone who can think critically and act with empathy. If we let these cuts go unnoticed, we're saying it's fine for schools to narrow their vision of what matters. And that's not the kind of future I want to be part of.
So what do we do with this? We pay attention. We ask our own administration what's on the chopping block and why. We support the students and faculty who are pushing back, even when it's not our own program. And we remember that a university is supposed to be a place where hard questions get asked, not just where majors get approved. The detail to watch now is whether other schools follow UT's lead, and whether students start mobilizing before more programs disappear. That's the real test, and it's one we can't afford to sleep through.
