Texas A&M Cancels Conference Trip Excluding White And Asian Students After Gov. Abbott Threat

Texas A&M University canceled an upcoming conference trip after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott discovered that only white and Asian students were not eligible to attend.

On Monday, activist Christopher Rufo posted an image of the university promoting the PhD Project’s Annual Conference in Chicago, specifying that the conference is "designed for historically underrepresented individuals considering business doctorial studies." 

Specifically, only black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American, and Native American/Canadian Indigenous students were eligible.

"Texas A&M is sponsoring a trip to a DEI conference that prohibits whites and Asians from attending. The university falsely claims that this use of taxpayer funds does not violate the state's DEI ban. @TAMU is supporting racial segregation and breaking the law," Rufo posted on X.

After Rufo's post, Gov. Abbott got involved. 

"Hell, no. It’s against Texas law and violates the US Constitution. It will be fixed immediately or the president will soon be gone," Abbott warned.

Not long after, the university posted a statement on its X account claiming that it does not discriminate based on race in compliance with SB-17, a state law that bans diversity, equity, and inclusion offices in Texas public colleges.

"Texas A&M does not support any organization, conference, process or activity that excludes people based on race, creed, gender, age or any other discriminating factor. The intent of SB-17 is very clear in that regard. We will continue to honor both the letter and the intent of the law," A&M said on X.

Texas A&M Trip Is Example Of Excused Racism

University President Mark A. Welsh III acknowledged in a statement sent to Fox News Digital that the application in question was "not in line" with the state’s law, and thus would cancel the trip altogether.

"While the proper process for reviewing and approving attendance at such events was followed, I don’t believe we fully considered the spirit of our state law in making the initial decision to participate," the statement read. "This particular conference’s limitations on the acceptable race of attendees is not in line with the intent of SB-17, and, as a result, we will not be sending anyone to participate in this conference."

Welsh continued, "Texas A&M faculty and staff attend hundreds, if not thousands, of conferences and other events during the course of each academic year. We need to be sure that attendance at those events is aligned with the very clear guidance we’ve been given by our governing bodies."

Good.

The trip was yet another example of excused racism. And excused racism is still racism. Don't put up with excused racism. Gov. Greg Abbott certainly does not.