Protestors held up signs denouncing the University’s recent financial and political actions. (Tanvi Gorre | Student Life)

Approximately 20 protesters marched from Anheuser-Busch Hall around 1:10 p.m. this Friday to the steps of Brookings Hall. The march, following the protest on Oct. 23 against the University administration, included a beating of a drum and chants of “no compact for fascism.”

The protest was preceded by a teach-in organized by the WashU chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the WashU Graduate Workers Union. That event featured a discussion of the history of academic freedom and concerns about the Trump administration’s compact by WashU professors, including public health professor Timothy McBride and professor of law Gregory Magarian. 

The protesters’ concerns centered around similar issues as those of last week’s demonstration, most notably the Trump administration’s proposed higher education compact and other actions by WashU and the White House. 

Concern for vulnerable communities, particularly international students and the LGBTQ+ community, was a significant priority for some demonstrators who said that policies like the compact’s proposed 15% cap on international students and rollback of DEI policies would hurt these groups. 

Bobby Huggins, a Ph.D. student studying computer science who organized the protest alongside other students, believed that Chancellor Martin’s statement last week rejecting the “proposed” document intentionally allows for the administration to consider a different agreement in the future. He also said that he and other protesters thought that there should be no negotiation on the compact and that Martin should reject the compact in any form. 

“The core tenets of this compact are not compatible with our academic freedoms and our core principles as a university,” Huggins said.

Some protesters were worried that WashU would attempt to curtail their ability to protest on campus through policies like the proposed restrictions on wearing masks on campus. Huggins said that it would be “very disingenuous” and hypocritical for the administration to attempt that given its rhetoric around upholding free speech.

Humza Hemani, a Ph.D. student studying bioinformatics, said that the protest and others like it were part of a “broader fight against authoritarianism” in the United States. Molecular genetics and genomics Ph.D. student Cassidy Pitts called education “the first line against fascism.”

Huggins said he wanted to continue to demand action from the WashU administration including implementing policies like a legal defense fund for international students.

“There’s been a lot of pushback, and the needle has already been moved on this compact,” Huggins said. “But we want to keep up the pressure until the administration stops negotiating and rejects the compact in any form.”

Additional reporting by Tanvi Gorre

Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 8:20 p.m. on Nov. 9. to reflect that the teach-in was jointly organized by the AAUP and the WashU Graduate Workers Union.