I didn't get to testify in person against S.B. 37

but you can read my testimony here.

First, I am including some “highlights” of SB 37, but you can read the full text.

Testimony

My name is Holly Genovese and I am a Ph.D. Candidate in American Studies and have taught across the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. I am writing today as a private citizen opposed to the entirety of SB 37.

Several years ago I chose to move across the country to attend one of the top American Studies programs in the nation, at the University of Texas at Austin. I am not sure I would make the same decision today, a sentiment mirrored by many instructors and colleagues across the University. Texas is well known for the strength of its universities, the “public ivy” status of The University of Texas at Austin, and the nearly 1.5 million college students across the state. This bill threatens Texas’ reputation as a leader in higher education, as well as the ability to recruit faculty and students from across the country, which brings billions of dollars and brilliant minds to the state each year.

I am concerned that this bill will devalue our program and others like it, as well as the institution itself, because of the assumption that students cannot make decisions for themselves and that faculty somehow have unchecked power in the classroom. The goal of the humanities has always been to encourage students to think critically, to develop the tools to make their own arguments, and to introduce them to ideas, texts, and other sources that they may not otherwise encounter. Sometimes these ideas are controversial, but we instill in students the confidence to make their own decisions, both in and outside of the classroom. This bill limits our ability to do this. Specifically, the language that requires instructors "do not require or attempt to require a student to adopt a belief that any race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief is inherently superior to any other race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief, or to adopt any other similar ideology" greatly misinterprets what happens in the classroom. We do not, and never have, taught that “any race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief is inherently superior” but instead introduce students to beliefs and ideas that are different from their own. That said, the non-specificity of this language could allow teachers of controversial material, who only seek to enable students to make their own informed choices, targets of state oversight. If the goal of those in power is to enable students to make their own choices about their education and to avoid indoctrination, this bill actually prevents that.

If this bill is enacted, it will show a lack of trust in educators, a lack of faith in young Texans and other students from across the country, and devalue the system of Higher Education that has made me so proud to adopt Texas as a home state over the last several years. Please trust Texas educators and Texas students and vote no on SB 37.

Thank you for your time,

Holly Genovese