HOUSTON, Texas — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said helping Texas Southern University with a variety of issues was part of the reason he met with school leaders Tuesday.
"The needs in terms of funding, the needs in terms of infrastructure," Cruz said. "There’s a lot of important things that need to happen.”
We spoke with Sen. Cruz after the private, closed-door meeting that we're told included a select number of students.
We spoke with a student who was inside the meeting.
"I was there pushing for TSU," said Osvaldo Vela. "I think it was a good meeting to let him know about the needs that TSU has."
"I believe that the only way to institute real change is to have uncomfortable conversations," said TSU law student Aaron Abram. "And that means having people that you may not necessarily want to speak to. But it’s important and imperative that you do speak to them.”
TSU’s Student Government Association issued a letter Monday citing the current climate of the country and other reasons for boycotting the meeting.
Meantime, TX Sen. Borris Miles called the appearance “political theater” in another letter and mentioned Cruz’s recent e-book on how to fight the teaching of Critical Race Theory which we asked him about.
"When it comes to Critical Race Theory, we ought to teach history, teach real history, not propaganda,” Cruz said.
A few students engaged Cruz as he left campus.
They wanted to know his reasoning behind recent comments comparing President Biden’s promise to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court to racial discrimination.
"A huge population of our school is Black women and that hits home, specifically, to what we stand for here,” said Abram.
"I think we ought to have justices who defend the Constitution, defend the Bill of Rights and protect our rights," said Sen. Cruz. "And I think that’s what most Americans want.”
In a statement, TSU said it supports diverse campus views but also welcomes conversations with elected leaders who can advocate for the university.
TSU's full statement:
Texas Southern University welcomes conversations with any of our elected officials who are interested in advocating for our campus resources and our students. We support and respect the diverse views of our campus community, especially our students, as we transform TSU together.