Texas A&M’s Political Pressures Threaten Academic Freedom and Due Process

In a troubling episode that highlights the growing politicization of higher education, Texas A&M University fired senior lecturer Melissa McCoul after an orchestrated backlash triggered by a classroom discussion on gender identity. This dismissal, now challenged in federal court, exposes the dangerous consequences when educational institutions sacrifice constitutional principles under political pressure. Is Academic Freedom a Casualty in America’s Culture Wars? McCoul’s decade-plus tenure as an English professor was abruptly ended following viral footage showing a student questioning whether discussing gender identity complied with then-President Trump’s executive order. Republican officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, quickly called for her termination—setting a...