Angelo State University just became the first public Texas university to ban professors from discussing transgender or nonbinary identities in class. No official policy, no written rules—just a Friday meeting, some panicked emails, and a whole lot of confusion. Faculty were told to scrub syllabi, cut textbook chapters, and keep their mouths shut if the topic ever comes up. Apparently Shakespeare’s cross-dressing characters are now a legal gray area.
The administration claims they’re just following Trump’s executive order, Abbott’s “stop the woke” memo, and a brand-new state law. Problem is, none of those actually ban universities from talking about trans people. But hey, why let facts get in the way when you’ve got culture war points to score? Professors say the unwritten rules feel less like guidance and more like a “veiled threat”—one wrong pronoun and suddenly you’re out of a job.
Meanwhile, students are left wondering why their own identities are treated like Voldemort—“that which must not be named.” Even history department emails admit you can still talk about gay and bi people, but trans identities are strictly forbidden. It’s almost like ASU is drawing a rainbow, then erasing one color in permanent marker.
If Angelo State’s idea of academic freedom is “talk about anything we like, just not reality,” maybe they should go ahead and rebrand as Flat Earth U. Wouldn’t want students getting confused by facts.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/texas-tech-transgender-restrictions-angelo-state-university/
