Ritvik

I usually don't comment on politicians' posts. Making an exception for a timeline. Dates and quotes only. 2022: - @KenPaxtonTX tells the Supreme Court "The University of Texas was wrong" to use race in admissions - @tedcruz leads a brief signed by @JohnCornyn and 80 other Republicans: race-conscious admissions "inflict a heavy toll on Asian-American students" 2023: - @GregAbbott_TX signs a ban on DEI offices at state universities - The Supreme Court rules their way. UT stops considering race Since then: - Texas law auto-admits the top of every high school class by rank, as it has since 1997; this year, the cutoff is the top 5% - 90% of freshmen must be Texans by law - 4% of undergrads are international per @UTAustin's 2025-26 Common Data Set 9/13/2026: - @bofrench, Republican nominee for Railroad Commissioner, posts a photo of South Asian students at UT and calls it "the problem" - As of writing this post, two students in the photo have spoken to reporters. Both are US citizens 9/14/2026: - Asked about it on the Mark Davis Show, French says letting UT administrators "select their preferred groups of people" is racism - His fix - "prioritize Americans" Race-blind admissions were requested and delivered. Changing who is in that photo would require bringing back affirmative action, which the Cruz-Cornyn brief called "unconstitutional on its face" and French even said letting UT administrators "select their preferred groups of people" is racism Sources: - Paxton brief ("The University of Texas was wrong"): texastribune.org/2022/10/31/… - Cruz-Cornyn brief, filed 5/9/2022, both quotes and signer list: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/2… - SB 17, signed June 2023: compliance.utexas.edu/sb17 - Top 5% rule: texastribune.org/2024/09/16/… - 4% international undergrads, UT Common Data Set 2025-26: utexas.box.com/s/z5p8zzbr6yk… - The students in the photo: texastribune.org/2026/09/14/… - Mark Davis Show quotes: kut.org/politics/2026-09-15/… - "Prioritize Americans": kxan.com/news/texas-politics… Thanks to @vedantnair__ for inspiring me to post