When a Texas A&M student stood up for biblical truth in class, the fallout reached all the way to the university’s leadership. See why three employees were fired and what it reveals about faith and free speech on campus.



Texas A&M University (TAMU) has fired a senior lecturer and two administrators for violating state law after a Republican lawmaker shared a viral video of a classroom discussion on gender identity. A hidden-camera video, shared by state Rep. Brian Harrison on Sept. 8, English lecturer Melissa McCoul dismissed a student who objected to the lesson, which was discussed as part of a children's literature course, The Christian Post reported.

"This also very much goes against not only myself but a lot of people's religious beliefs. And so, I am not going to participate in this because it's not legal and I don't want to promote something that is against our president's laws as well as against my religious beliefs," the student says in the video.

"If you are uncomfortable in this class, you do have the right to leave. What we are doing is not illegal," McCoul responds.

In response to the video, TAMU President Mark A. Welsh III removed the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English Department on Sept. 8, citing deviations from the course's published description. Welsh would also fire the professor "effective immediately" on Sept. 9.

"This summer, a children's literature course contained content that did not align with any reasonable expectation of standard curriculum for the course," he said. "After this issue was raised, college and department leadership worked with students to offer alternative opportunities for students to complete the course, and made changes to ensure this course content does not continue in future semesters."

In another video, Welsh was heard defending the curriculum, telling the same student who expressed their concern to McCoul that LGBT-related courses are currently at TAMU and "have been for a long time."

In the aftermath of McCoul's firing, the TAMU Board of Regents stressed the board "will not tolerate actions that damage the reputation of our institutions" and confirmed an audit was underway to "ensure full compliance with all applicable laws."

Senate Bill 17, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, amended Texas's education code to prohibit public institutions of higher education from specific "diversity, equity, and inclusion" DEI-related activities.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's January executive order, titled "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which warned that federal funds may be withheld from public institutions that endorse "gender ideology, including allowing access to single-sex spaces based on gender identity. The order, however, does not specifically address university coursework discussing more than two genders.

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