College Station–Approximately 150 members of the Texas A&M community, primarily students and faculty, rallied Thursday evening under the College Station campus’ iconic Sul Ross statue in protest of recent reforms.
The event was hosted by the Texas A&M chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a trade association for left-wing faculty, in conjunction with the Texas State Employees Union. Several other groups also spoke in alignment with the stated agenda.
At issue, primarily, was a recent policy revision by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents to require campus presidential approval for courses that “advocate” gender or race ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Speakers claimed this new policy amounted to “censorship” that infringed upon their perception of “academic freedom.”
Dr. Leonard Bright, current president of TAMU’s AAUP chapter, told the crowd the board had chosen “censorship over education.” He further accused the board of turning Texas A&M into a “training ground for political obedience.”
Robert Day with Move Texas accused regents of pursuing a “donor-backed agenda.” Day also repurposed a well known Texas A&M athletic chant to “Beat The Hell out of censorship.”
Daniya Muzaffar with Aggies Against Apartheid, which opposes Palestinian occupation, compared the new board policy to book burning similar to what is found in the novel Fahrenheit 451.
A speaker with the “Queer Empowerment Council,” speaking on behalf of four queer organizations, castigated the 2025 termination of Professor Melissa McCoul.
McCoul came under public scrutiny after State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) released a recording of a student objecting to course materials in McCoul’s children’s literature class that introduced gender confusion to children as young as three.
Several speakers also referenced a recently debunked hoax that Texas A&M “censored Plato.” Martin Peterson, the philosophy professor who launched this hoax, told the crowd that Texas A&M cannot be a top school and censor professors.
The event was emceed by “Beck,” a representative of the Texas State Employees Union and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. This individual introduced speakers and led the crowd in chants, including one demanding “total freedom” from Gov. Greg Abbott and the Board of Regents.
Signs at the event included accusations of censorship, racism, and vulgarities towards state officials.
Texas A&M University is a component institution of the Texas A&M University System. The TAMU System is overseen by a Board of Regents that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Robert Albritton of Fort Worth is the current board chairman.
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