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The Latest Breaking News from Walter Wendler

FIRE Files First Amendment Lawsuit Challenging Texas A&M Drag Show Ban

Texas A&M's Board of Regents voted to ban drag shows on the grounds that they objectify women and violate state and federal policies against promoting "gender ideology."

Reason

Texas A&M System bans drag shows from its universities

The move sparked a new First Amendment fight between students and university administrators.

The Texas Tribune

How plans for a West Texas drag show turned into a war over the First Amendment

In the staunchly conservative Panhandle, LGBTQ+ Texans say political and legal battles overlook their humanity.

The Texas Tribune

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SCOTUS welcomes a Texas dictatorship

Donald Trump isn't the only far-right character the Supreme Court could bless with dictatorial powers

Salon

Supreme Court again refuses to intervene in drag show controversy

It was the second time the court has refused to step into a drag controversy this term.

WEKU

U.S. Supreme Court declines to intervene in lawsuit over West Texas A&M drag shows

The decision means university President Walter Wendler could cancel an on-campus drag show next week. He canceled a previous show last year.

The Texas Tribune

West Texas A&M turned to leading conservatives to build out institute for “Panhandle values”

Emails obtained by The Texas Tribune suggest the new center is more closely aligned with influential conservative actors than publicly discussed.

The Texas Tribune

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West Texas A&M University receives $20 million gift for new institute to promote “Texas Panhandle values”

University leaders say the new Hill Institute will promote values like family life, the free and open exercise of faith, and rugged individualism.

The Texas Tribune

Federal judge sides with West Texas A&M University president who canceled campus drag show

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the student fundraiser featuring drag performers was not protected, raising the stakes for a battle over First Amendment rights and drag shows.

The Texas Tribune

Federal Judge Declines To Stop Drag Show Ban at Texas College

The judge ruled that drag performances are not inherently expressive and that schools could regulate "vulgar and lewd" conduct.

Reason

West Texas A&M will no longer require students to pay for textbooks starting next fall

The move is an effort to provide relief for college students struggling with the skyrocketing costs of higher education. But professors expressed concerns about the impact the decision might have on their ability to prepare for classes.

The Texas Tribune

West Texas A&M faculty condemn university President Walter Wendler after drag show cancellation

The vote of no-confidence came over Wendler’s handling of the drag show. Faculty said he’s also exhibited poor leadership with other issues.

The Texas Tribune

West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler faces no-confidence vote from faculty after canceling drag show

Faculty say the decision to take a vote on whether to condemn Wendler was the final straw in a host of issues with him.

The Texas Tribune

Cynthia M. Allen: Can a college cancel a drag performance on the grounds that it’s demeaning to women?

If you feel like drag queens are ubiquitous these days, you aren’t wrong.

Tribune News Service

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Reason

FIRE Sues West Texas A&M Over Its Blocking of Student Group's Drag Show

From the brief in support of motion for TRO in Spectrum WT v. Wendler (N.D. Tex.), filed Friday (see the brief for more factual details, and some further analysis); the argument seems correct to me: Introduction West Texas A&M University's President, Defendant Walter Wendler, has declared that he will not…

The Independent UK

Student group sues after Texas university cancels drag show

A student group at a university in the Texas Panhandle said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday that the school’s president violated their constitutional right to free speech when he canceled their planned drag show

Reason

This College President Knows the First Amendment Protects the Drag Show He Canceled. He Just Doesn't Care.

"I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it," he wrote.

The Texas Tribune

West Texas A&M University students file free speech lawsuit after president cancels campus drag show

The lawsuit comes after protests each day this week, calling for university president Walter Wendler to reinstate the drag show and step down.

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Salon

GOP war on LGBTQ rights will backfire

New research shows most Americans side with RuPaul and Kevin Bacon against Christian nationalists

The Independent UK

Texas university students protest drag show's cancellation

Protests continued Wednesday at a university in the Texas Panhandle after the school’s president said a planned campus drag show wouldn’t be allowed and expressed the view that such events “discriminate against womanhood.”

The Texas Tribune

West Texas A&M University president cancels student drag show, saying it degrades women

Students and First Amendment lawyers say President Walter Wendler’s portrayal of drag shows is off base and the cancellation violates free-speech rights.

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