Editor’s note: The following is an open letter to the Texas A&M student body written by a tenured professor at A&M and provided to The Battalion. The professor has asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, but one tenured faculty member and one non-tenured faculty member were able to confirm the letter’s authenticity to The Battalion.

Although The Battalion is publishing the letter, it does not reflect the official opinion of the publication. The full and unaltered text of the letter is below:

A Letter to the Students

Anonymous Faculty Member

Dear Students:

I am a tenured Professor at Texas A&M University, writing in appreciation and to ask for your help in defending our institution. I cannot identify myself, as doing so would risk my job security and personal safety, and could bring unwanted criticism on my colleagues and academic unit.

Like most faculty, I am not originally from Texas. I received my collegiate and advanced degrees in other states and had the honor of working at other strong institutions before joining A&M. Accepting this job was not an easy decision at the time. I knew little about Texas – or about you – and I was not sure if I would belong. Your traditions, terminology, and spirit were unfamiliar, and even “Howdy” tripped across my tongue at first. But you began to win me over the day you lined up to introduce yourselves after my first lecture, and again on the first day of every class that followed. I have deep admiration for the way you pursue excellence, leadership, and selfless service, grounded in loyalty, respect, and integrity. Because of you, I know I can make my greatest contributions as an educator here, and you are the reason I intend to serve the remainder of my career at Texas A&M University.

But I may have no choice but to leave. Continuing to serve you – and to serve society through you – now carries real risks to my career, my reputation, and my security. Worse still, outside actors may be willing to put you in harm’s way if that is what it takes to drive me out.

We share a love for this institution, but it is broken, and its repair depends on you organizing and stepping forward together – to take greater control and be a Force for Good. The challenge A&M faces is that its mission is complex, with many actors and competing demands. As a land-grant institution, we are charged with teaching, research, and public service. As a public university, we are accountable to the state and the taxpayer. And as your university – the place where you invest your time and money – we have an obligation not only to prepare you for the workforce and advanced study but also to live meaningful lives of consequence. To this end, many actors must come together, working in coordination and good faith: faculty to teach and advance knowledge in the public interest, administrators to provide resources and uphold institutional standards, and a Chancellor and Board of Regents to represent the people of Texas by safeguarding the university’s public mission and accountability. As should now be clear to us all, this good faith has broken down, and you are the ones who have the most to lose as a result.

For the second time in two years, a President has stepped down under public criticism from Texas political leaders and social media actors – accompanied by the resignation or removal of academic administrators and, in this most recent case, the firing of a faculty member in what appears to be a response to political pressure. This follows years in which faculty have been lampooned in partisan media and by state officials as “woke” activists, supposedly more concerned with ideology than with research and education. We come to work knowing that serving your interests carries the risk of public ridicule, doxing, and, now it appears, loss of one’s job. What makes this moment even more distressing is that outside agitators are trying to pit students against faculty, encouraging you to use the classroom as their weapon. I feel a long way from my first day standing in front of a classroom of Aggies, when students lined up to say Howdy and introduce themselves. Now I wonder if they are recording.

And you are the ones with the most to lose. My colleagues and I may have to leave this cherished institution, and that would be a great loss for us. But we have already lived lives of consequence and can find other pursuits. You, however, would lose the education you deserve – and that loss cannot be undone. A&M attracts some of the best researchers and educators in the world, and if they leave, the meaning and quality of your degree will be diminished. Even if they stay, it is unlikely you will receive the same education. Many faculty now hesitate to present material in ways they believe are accurate and faithful, knowing that political pressure can force them to alter or remove content – or face consequences.

You also now must fear one another. Under the new normal, a single student can record a class discussion you participate in, fail to protect your identity, and post it online in violation of the safeguards provided by Student Rule 24 and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), dragging you and your classmates into a national scandal without consent. Many of you are now afraid to speak up in class, especially in online forums, for fear that your words could be recorded, shared, and turned against you. There is no evidence that the university will protect you from this. Some students have even asked whether they could be expelled alongside their instructors for what they say in class. My hope is that we are not there yet – but I can no longer say with confidence that I know the answer.

If you want these conditions to change, you will have to act. Faculty are afraid to carry out their jobs faithfully in what they view to be your interest, and there is little evidence that the administration will shield them from outside pressures that run contrary to this goal. Missing in this equation is you. What kind of education do you want?

Maybe you believe faculty have overstepped, using the classroom in ways they should not. Maybe you feel politicians are belittling you by interfering in your education, claiming to protect you from indoctrination. Or maybe you see truth on both sides and think A&M must grapple with the complexity of these concerns. But whatever your view, if this question is left to faculty and political actors, faculty will lose – and outside forces will decide what your education becomes. That is what is at stake for you.

Without an administration willing to defend academic integrity against political pressure, your education will change. If that is the outcome you want, do nothing – it is coming. If it is not, you must get involved.

What would involvement look like? Respectfully, I urge members and leaders of the Student Government Association to take up this issue and release statements that reflect shared student sentiment. For non-members, make sure your voice is heard by voting in student elections and demanding that the next administration hold open forums with SGA that are responsive to your concerns. Sadly, with the passage of Senate Bill 37 in the last legislative session, faculty have lost our representative body – the Faculty Senate – but I encourage Student Government to reach out to the new Faculty Advisory Board to find common cause. If these two groups work together in defense of a shared vision of education, the next administration may be more willing to stand its ground against political pressure.

I also urge leaders of opposing student political groups – Texas Aggie Democrats, College Republicans, Young Democratic Socialists, and Young Conservatives – to come together and identify points of agreement about the education you all wish to receive. And beyond campus, vote in state elections. The 31 Senators and 150 State Representatives need to hear from you – and many of them will welcome hearing from you, as former Aggies themselves. Tell them what kind of education you want.

This is a precarious moment in A&M’s history. Your education will change – that much is certain. The only question is whether it changes at the hands of outside forces, or because you choose to be the agent of change.

Signed: A tenured faculty member at Texas A&M University