What to know about Texas A&M’s censorship battles, including Draggieland show and The Battalion – Houston Chronicle

Texas A&M University is home to more than 70,000 students and 500,000 alumni many of whom hope to maintain the myriad traditions central to the institutions identity.

But rapid growth in A&Ms population means that change is occurring at the traditionally conservative university in College Station. Some students and faculty say several recent administrative decisions were unilateral and regressive, however, highlighting A&Ms struggle to weigh the desires of mounting liberal voices against those of a still-larger group of conservative students and alumni.

Heres what you should know about the latest conflict at A&M.

The school had more than 73,000 students in fall 2021, compared to under 50,000 students in 2010.

The alumni population is similarly large. More than 550,000 people have attended Texas A&M University, and more than 505,000 of them are still alive. Thats because more people graduated from the school in the past 20 years than in the first 120 years of the institution combined, according to the Association of Former Students.

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Students and faculty say they have noticed a trend over the past year, especially since President M. Katherine Banks took the helm in summer 2021. The former engineering dean has ushered in several new changes, and not all of them were made with student and faculty input, those stakeholders say.

Some of the overarching changes involve Banks attempts to reorganize the universitys academic structure. A&M last year commissioned a study to address organizational efficiency, and in response to the findings, Banks identified several areas that will see transformation. She called her response, "The Path Forward."

One of the biggest recommendations that the university accepted is the merging of the College of Liberal Arts, College of Science and the College of Geosciences into a new College of Arts and Science. Another is the reorganization of the provosts office despite faculty concerns that changes might impact their freedom to teach on topics they choose. And University Libraries will no longer serve as a tenure home for faculty.

The university is also working to align the management practices of student organizations, although it received markedly split feedback on the suggestion.

"We are pleased to hear from different voices, even though sometimes we all dont agree on the outcome of a decision," Kelly Brown, vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement. "Texas A&M has 72,000-plus students, more than 1,200 student organizations and countless competing priorities."

"Earlier this year, President Banks commissioned 41 working groups to review and make recommendations related to the Path Forward," the statement continues. "She asked for the direct input of students, faculty, staff and former students. She is seeking other opinions and is most definitely listening. Hard decisions are being made based on whats best for the university and those decisions are arrived at through research, careful thought and input from all stakeholders. Not all decisions will be favorable to everyone, however, the administration is committed to continue working together and listening to all campus voices."

In the fall, the university moved the three-day summer camp for incoming freshmen under a new umbrella. Formerly an independently run student organization, it is now a student organization that supports a university program meaning student leaders report to the university. The selection of leaders and counselors also has to be approved by the vice president of student affairs.

A&M further changed the camps mission statement to remove a phrase about creating an accepting environment, head director Mikayla Slaydon said. The university then aligned Fish Camps official values with the A&Ms official values, resulting in the loss of a camp value stressing diversity.

Slaydon said she found out about these decisions after the fact.

The university disaffiliated from "Draggieland" in the fall without providing an explanation, students said.

Students formerly managed the drag show throughMSC Town Hall, a student organization supporting a university program that brings events to campus. That group held the money in a university coffer, so A&M's disaffiliation meant the show couldn't access its funding.

Several LGBT groups fundraised themselves and held the pageant to a sold-out crowd. They suspect conservative lobbying groups influenced the administration. Several organizations heavily protested the event in 2020 and 2021, even though it was still a rousing success those years.

Another controversial decision came when the university in February gave editors of the student newspaper The Battalion an ultimatum to stop printing immediately. If they didnt move to an online-only format, they would lose several resources including their building space and faculty adviser, the newspapers editor-in-chief previously told the Chronicle.

Several students said they feel that The Battalion has covered more contentious issues on campus this year, such as sexual assault at Fish Camp. The Battalion is a registered student organization, which means it doesnt report to university administration. The threat led students and faculty to immediately raise concerns about censorship.

After news of the decision went viral, administration walked back the ultimatum and formed a working group to determine the future of the publication. Vice President of Student Affairs Gen. Joe Ramirez also issued a formal apology about several decisions madeon campus without student input.

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What to know about Texas A&M's censorship battles, including Draggieland show and The Battalion - Houston Chronicle