A Texas State student posted a mocking reenactment of Charlie Kirk’s assassination; Rep. Brian Harrison spotted it, dug up an LGBTQ+ Communication Studies course, and blasted it on X as taxpayer-funded “indoctrination.” Cue the Bannon segment, the Texas Scorecard write-up, the professor doxxed by name—and by the next day, the course vanished from the catalog. The university won’t explain; Harrison doesn’t need them to.
This is the playbook: can’t pass bills (he passed zero of his own this session), so weaponize social media to pressure campuses. Harrison claims he helped push out a Texas A&M professor over a gender-identity course—and then the A&M president—bragging about the “ripple effects.” Those ripples hit Lubbock, where Texas Tech officials limited classroom discussions of transgender and nonbinary identities. The UT System says it’s reviewing courses on “gender identity,” and multiple universities announced audits. Harrison took credit for all of it, obviously.
College leaders insist they’re not dancing to one guy’s tweets. A&M regents and Tech’s board chair say his posts didn’t drive their decisions, and UT didn’t flinch the first time he tried this routine. Even some Republicans call him too combative; Texas Monthly labeled him the session’s “cockroach,” which he proudly framed like a diploma. Harrison’s response to the “no bills” thing? “Anyone can pass a bill.” (Bold strategy, Cotton.)
Meanwhile, faculty are looking over their shoulders. One Texas State historian canceled her annual witch-trial lecture—apparently “patriarchy, capitalism, and poverty” are now fighting words—because she’s waiting for the Harrison dogpile. It’s a vibe: less “marketplace of ideas,” more “quote-tweet and chill.” From Cheney-era staffer to labradoodle side hustle to Syllabus Sheriff, the man’s found his calling: turning higher ed into a perpetual outrage reel.
If academic freedom is now determined by whoever yells “Despicable!” the loudest on X, should we start awarding degrees in Caps Lock?
