On January 30, Texas A&M University announced the elimination of their Women’s and Gender Studies program.
Their decision follows a months-long review of thousands of course syllabi, and represents a significant shift to the university’s academic programs and priorities.
Students currently enrolled in the program will be able to complete their degrees, but the university will not admit new majors and minors.
Under the new policy, in addition to the elimination of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, no academic course may “advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” unless it has prior written approval from the president of the campus.
Syllabi for hundreds of courses had to be altered, and six classes had to be entirely canceled.
Sophomore Emerson Flores said, “I think that it is very important that colleges offer courses on these topics because the first step in changing inequality is awareness.”
One of the university’s main rationale for eliminating the program was low enrollment. They stated the change would align more with current student demand as well as the university’s values.
Junior Rubjot Mand said, “I do think that decisions like this affect society’s understanding of race, gender, and identity issues through preventing them from further learning about these topics.”
The review was undertaken after a video circulated last year in which a student at Texas A&M challenged a professor’s lesson about gender and gender identity.
The video drew criticism from conservative leaders, and elicited a debate about what should and shouldn’t be taught in public universities. Various lawmakers and activists called for greater oversight of the curriculum.
This led to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to adopt a policy that limited how courses can address topics relating to “race or gender ideology”.
In the days leading up to and following the elimination of the program, many students and faculty held protests on campus.
They described the elimination as a limit on academic freedom as well as detrimental for future scholarship in those topics.
Their decision also reflects a broader shift in how public universities navigate and teach topics relating to race and gender.
Mand said, “I believe it is […] a way to avoid the problems that come with it such as protests and ideas being spread.”
What more people are afraid of is how this could happen at other universities as well.
The elimination not only affects the students at Texas A&M, but also signifies how political and regulatory pressures are increasingly shaping decisions about academic programs.
Critics of the new policy are apprehensive, as they believe requiring administrative approval for courses relating to race and gender is pure censorship and restrictive to expression.
Faculty members and advocacy groups have been very vocal about their disapproval of the policy. One professor called it a devastation for colleagues conducting research and teaching classes relating to the subject, as well as an overall setback for education in Texas.
Flores said, “By eliminating programs like this, society ultimately chooses to decide that these topics aren’t important, but they are.”
The policy review and elimination of the Women’s and Gender Studies program has sparked national discussion about how to balance course content while preserving academic freedom.
Flores said, “the best way to balance learning and sensitivity is to offer classes that acknowledge both topics. This leads to more diversity and a more supportive environment on campus.”