In an Oct. 1 statement, the UT System announced it is reviewing courses on “gender identity” to ensure they comply with current state laws, federal guidance from the Trump administration, and orders from the Board of Regents.
Gender ideology is the belief a person’s gender is different from their sex, male or female. Rather than chromosomes and sex organs, gender ideology is based on a person’s feelings and individual expression, which is why the list of genders has climbed to nearly 70 definitions so far.
Sherry Sylvester, a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, tells AFN the review of course curriculum across Texas goes back to a female student who objected to gender ideology in her class at Texas A&M.
"The teacher said, ‘If you don't agree, you can leave.’ Well, that's not academic freedom. That's ideological indoctrination,” Sylvester argues.
The Texas A&M student, whose name has never made public, nonetheless caused huge political waves after recording her interaction with the English professor, Dr. Melissa McCoul.
With her phone recording, the student interrupts the English class on children’s literature to suggest the class’s gender-based curriculum conflicts with an executive order from President Donald Trump and her own religious beliefs.
“You are under a misconception that what I’m saying is illegal,” Dr. McCoul, unaware of the recording, tells the female student.
When the student presses the professor to defend transgenderism and teaching the class there are more than two sexes, Dr. McCoul bizarrely tells her “my gender isn’t illegal” and insists it wasn’t illegal to teach gender ideology in the class.
Even though Dr. McCoul was technically right, and she was not breaking any Texas laws, the video kicked off an investigation that led to her firing and to punishment for her bosses who allowed her to indoctrinate the class with left-wing propaganda.
The female student was also helped by a Republican state lawmaker, Rep. Brian Harrison, who is a vocal opponent of left-wing ideology in education. The lawmaker published the student’s video recording on X, which has generated five million views and helped publicize the controversy.
Harrison also posted class slides, 16 examples in all, showing McCoul was teaching her students about The Gender Unicorn; Dr. Seuss and racism; gender versus sex; steps for writing your personal pronouns; and critical race theory, among other far-left topics.
Reached by AFN for comment, Harrison said Texas' "biggest obstacles" to ending liberal indoctrination in higher-ed have been the governor-appointed university regents and the GOP-led legislature.
"However, when I exposed to the people of Texas how their money was being weaponized against them, their values, and their children," he said, "we successfully beat the liberal Austin establishment and forced change."
On Sept. 8, Texas A&M President Mark Welsh announced a dean and the department head had been removed from their posts because they had “approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description.”
He also announced Dr. McCoul had been terminated over her confrontation with the student.
However, in another twist Welsh also stepped down Sept. 18 as university president after the student released a second video recording of him defending the professor.
“What do you expect us to do? Fire her?” he tells the female student.
“Yes,” she replies.
“Well, that’s not happening,” the university president tells her.
According to Sylvester, Texas Public Policy searched online for higher-ed course materials involving gender and easily found 400-plus teaching that left-wing ideology.
“Every rock we turn over, we find it there again,” she says.
Rep. Harrison, in his comments to AFN, said conservatives must keep up the pressure to root out left-wing ideology.
"The audit better be real and lead to the full elimination of taxpayer-funded LGBTQ indoctrination," he urged.
Due to its size, Texas has numerous university systems. Texas A&M, located in College Station, is part of the Texas A&M University System that covers 11 campuses.
The University of Texas System, led by UT Austin, is the largest one with 14 higher-ed institutions.
