# UT students hit back at Bo French's racist post

> A Texas Railroad Commission candidate posted a graduation photo to claim white Americans are being displaced, and the students in it are speaking up.
- Title: UT students hit back at Bo French's racist post | Shortify
- Summary: A Texas Railroad Commission candidate posted a graduation photo to claim white Americans are being displaced, and the students in it are speaking up. The…
- Keywords: texas politics, racism, university of texas, bo french, elections, news, local, students, hit, back, French's, racist
- Source: The Texas Tribune — https://feeds.texastribune.org/link/16799/17462113/bo-french-university-texas-austin-students
- Author: Megan Menchaca
- Published: 2026-09-15T02:03:13+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: texas politics, racism, university of texas, bo french, elections, news, local
## A graduation photo weaponized
Bo French, a Republican running for the Texas Railroad Commission, posted a photo on X of UT Austin students of South Asian descent celebrating their graduation.
## What he actually wrote
French framed the photo as proof of decline, saying he hadn't believed reports about UT graduation until he saw it.

> I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it.
## He doubled down Monday
Rather than walk it back, French defended the post on a conservative radio talk show the next day.
## The pile-on that followed
By then the post had spread across social media, drawing replies like "Bollywood University" and "I didn't know the stadium was in India."

> The America we grew up in no longer exists.
## A student in the frame
Senior Dhairya Gupta is in the bottom right of the photo, throwing a Hook 'em Horns sign in a burnt orange shirt. He said seeing a candidate say it was "insane."

> When I look at that picture, I don't see a problem.
## Even Karl Rove bailed
The Republican strategist said he'll break a 30 year streak of backing only Republicans to vote against French, calling him a bigot.
## Key takeaway

The students in the photo saw nothing wrong with it, and that gap is the whole story: a candidate turned a normal graduation into a grievance.