The Texas A&M Board of Regents over the 12 university system have made policy changes. These changes, according to the schools officials, were made to “crack down” on free speech in higher education. The point of these new policies is the banning of academic or casual discussion of race, gender ideology, and LGBTQ+ topics.
The specific policy changes are first to policy 08.01: “No academic course within the system may teach race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity, unless the course and its materials are approved in advance by a university president.” The second change is to policy 12.01: “Members of the faculty adhere to the approved syllabus for each course.” While they retain freedom to discuss relevant subject matter, faculty members are prohibited from introducing unrelated topics or teaching material inconsistent with approved syllabus.
Due to these changes, there have been more cases of intolerance and harassment to transgender and nonbinary students. These students have already been facing intolerance over the years due to officials fearing what they don’t understand. However, as the state cracks down on instruction about gender, these students face new levels on mistreatment and banning of clubs and support programs.
According to ACLU, this problem is not only restricted to Texas A&M system, but rather is making its way across the country. Lawmakers and federal agencies have silenced teachers in Oklahoma and Florida and banned books in DOD (Department of Defense) schools. These are attempts to censor what teachers and students can read, learn, and discus within the classroom, going against one of our most basic of rights as American people—freedom of speech.
The fact that this is happening at all is unlawful and goes against the very constitution that has given American people the rights to be people however that means for the individual.
