Texas A&M continues to do cleanup after controversy erupted over the recent viral video showing a professor kicking a student out of class for questioning pro-transgender lessons in a children's literature course. The university has now fired that professor for failing to adhere to course material guidelines. And in the latest step, the A&M Board of Regents has ordered an audit of all courses at the 12 schools in the system. A&M Chancellor Glenn Hegar called for the audit and also praised the professor's firing, saying it shows "insubordination and indoctrination have no place on our campus or in our classrooms."
University President Mark Welsh says the decision to fire the professor was "mine alone" and "was not made lightly." It came amidst growing calls for Welsh to be removed over repeated reports of left-wing content being allowed in courses in violation of state law. Whatever Welsh's motivation, it was the correct move, according to Christian Collins, CEO of the Texas Youth Summit. "It's one thing to say we're going to put laws in place to combat woke indoctrination in our public universities--which we're paying for with our tax dollars--it's one thing to say that, but it's another thing to see that implemented and put into action and that's what we're seeing here," says Collins. "So I commend President Welsh for doing the right thing."
Governor Greg Abbott also urged the firing of the professor seen on the video and has been critical of woke indoctrination on Texas campuses in general. But it remains to be seen if this A&M audit will lead to similar course audits at other public schools, especially the more liberal UT-Austin. Collins notes that without an audit, it's very difficult to expose this type of behavior. "Had this (incident) not been caught on video, nothing may have happened to the professor," he says. "If it's just professors talking in class and there's no record or evidence of them saying it, it's simply a he-said, she-said...and not all students will take the initiative that way that young lady did."
"But I'm so glad this was caught and we made an example of this professor who was breaking Texas law."
Photo: iStock Editorial