Texas A&M president steps down after defending LGBT course content in video

As far as I can tell, the student in the video was mistaken about the legality of discussing gender in the classroom. The president's executive orders (which all of us in higher ed are paying close attention to) address federal policy, such as passports, and federal granting agencies like the NSF and NIH, but executive orders don't govern state-level policy.

At the state level, it looks like Texas passed a law in 2023 restricting what Texas state universities may do regarding DEI. This law applies to Texas A&M. A document describing what is permitted and what is prohibited is here: https://compliance.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/documents/ut-system-sb-17-guidance-9-25.pdf

I see in this document that employee hiring and training are restricted, but I also see that academic course instruction is not. From p. 6, section C.2: "SB 17 specifically states that the bill’s restrictions do not apply to academic course instruction. Faculty retain academic freedom in how they provide instruction in their assigned courses, curriculum, practicums, seminars, clinical rotations, executive education programs, and any other academic instructional or clinical training setting." So, again, the student was mistaken when she said that discussing gender-diversity issues in the classroom is illegal.

Mostly, I'm disturbed by the precedent that university faculty should be fired if they require students to read content that the students disagree with. Part of the job of a university is to broaden everyone's minds, to introduce students to perspectives they haven't encountered before. We can't do our jobs if we only tell students stuff they already know and agree with.

I'll allow two points, both of which are mildly in favor of the student in the video:

1) Any discussion of sensitive topics like this should be done with respect, without ridicule. Students who believe that people shouldn't be able to identify as trans or non-binary --especially if this is coming from deeply-held religious beliefs -- should be able to voice their opinions and be heard (and challenged) respectfully. These students ought to be similarly respectful as they listen to (and challenge) the beliefs of their LGBTQ-affirming classmates. This environment of respectful discussion and challenge is not at all easy, but it's what we have to do if we're going to learn and grow together.

I'll note that I didn't hear any ridicule or disrespect coming from the professor in the video, but it was a short clip. I don't know what the larger classroom discussions have looked like.

2) If a course is going to require students to study sensitive or controversial topics, I think it's a good idea to put that in the syllabus on day one, and tell the students what's coming up during the semester, so that students who don't want to be exposed to topics they dislike can switch to another course or section during the drop/add period.