Good morning,

Yesterday, we asked readers if regents and university presidents should be held personally liable when students are assaulted on campus for their political beliefs. You'll find some of the responses below. 

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Texas A&M’s New Acting President Defended DEI

• In the wake of Texas A&M’s pro-DEI president resigning last week, the man chosen to temporarily fill the role has previously sought to reframe A&M's DEI initiatives as “student success.” Robert Montoya has the report.
      
• On Friday, Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar announced that Dr. James Hallmark—vice chancellor for academic affairs—would be the acting president of Texas A&M’s College Station campus.
       
• Now, in video provided to Texas Scorecard, Hallmark can be seen assuring the faculty senate in January 2023 that he was defending A&M's version of DEI to lawmakers. Hallmark claimed that removing DEI could affect Texas A&M’s NCAA status, saying that would give state lawmakers pause. “They may not care about our academics, but they sure will care about athletics.”
       
• Months later, Gov. Greg Abbott signed the state’s DEI ban into law. To date, Texas A&M has not lost its NCAA status.

OTHER A&M NEWS

• TAMU's Women’s & Gender Studies department describes itself as “devoted to the critical analysis of gender and the pursuit of knowledge about women” historically and globally. In fact, a review of the course syllabuses find they embrace Marxism and LGBT indoctrination.
      
• Neither Texas A&M nor its parent, the Texas A&M University System, responded to a request for comment about the courses before publication.

Abbott Signs Into Law 'Women's Privacy Act'

• Addie Hovland reports that Texas has now joined 19 other states in passing legislation that protects women’s privacy in areas such as restrooms and locker rooms. Gov. Greg Abbott described the law as “a common sense public safety issue.”
     
• Authored by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), the Women’s Privacy Act will keep biological men out of women’s private spaces. The law, which takes effect on January 1, is enforced by civil penalties and private lawsuits.

Judge Dismisses MUD’s Attempt To Silence Critics

• A Central Texas water district that tried to act like a homeowners’ association—and sued its critics to shut them up—has been rebuked in court. Brandon Waltens has the story.
     
• Organized to provide basic utilitues in housing developments outside a city's service area, MUDs are government entities that levy taxes. Yet a MUD straddling the Williamson-Travis county line in Central Texas has been behaving more like a homeowners' association, reportedly levying fines against individuals who left their garbage cans outside too long. In some cases, the district even shut off residents’ water to collect the fines, directing revenue to a private neighborhood association tied to MUD board members.
      
• When citizens raised alarms about what they considered to be misuse of funds and a lack of transparency, the taxing entity escalated by filing suit against them. Among other things, the MUD wanted to block the taxpayers from showing up at its meetings.
      
• Rather than go away, the citizens fought back using the Texas Citizens Participation Act, which is designed to stop government bodies and powerful interests from using the courts to silence critics. As a result, a district judge dismissed the taxing entity's lawsuit and set the stage for possible sanctions.

West Texas Teacher Resigns Amid Sexual Misconduct Investigation

• An unnamed teacher in Fort Stockton Independent School District has been allowed to resign amid an investigation of alleged misconduct involving sexual discussions with students. Erin Anderson has the details.
     
• According to Superintendent Gabriel Zamora, the classroom teacher was confronted with the allegations and chose to resign immediately. Zamora said that the misconduct allegations had been reported to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and to local law enforcement, as required by the Texas Education Code.

Quote-Unquote

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."

– Dwight D. Eisenhower​

Y'All Answered

Less than two weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus, members of the Turning Point chapter at the University of North Texas are being targeted for verbal and physical harassment by leftist students and faculty, while the institution's president and police force do nothing.

Yesterday, we asked readers if regents and university presidents should be held personally liable when students are assaulted on campus for their political beliefs. Just over 95 percent of readers believe they should be accountable, while 4.8 percent do not.

Here is a sampling of the responses I received from folks after they clicked an answer.

• “All students no matter which side they lean should be protected from violence.” – Cara Mierl 
      
• “If this happened in a private business, the President and Board of Directors would be personally liable if nothing was done to stop harassment. University Presidents and Board of Trustees should be held to the same standards.” – Ashton Otavetz III
      
• “They should be held accountable and no excuses like ’it depends on the context.’ It NEVER depends on the context; it’s flat out harassment.” – Sandra Grove
      
• “Why do these liberal wackos think they are the only ones with the freedom of speech? As a UNT alumni, I am not surprised by the actions of the university, but I am ashamed of them.” – Steve Sullivan
      
• “All people should be able to express their views without harassment. It is the duty of campus police and the heads of institutions to insure this protection.” – Mary Casper
      
• “Regents and university presidents should be held personally liable when students are assaulted on campus for their political beliefs. They are entrusted with creating a safe environment for all students/staff and must take all measures within their power to ensure safety, to be relieved of liability.” – Shawn DeCandia
      
• “There’s only one party that promotes assaulting others for their beliefs and in many cases they have been encouraged to do so by their educators. Any school that encourages this behavior should lose all funding immediately.” – Sylvia McLeod
      
• “Teachers, historically, are supposed to take care of their students. So they should be held responsible if they fail to do so. It goes with the job.” – Ray Halloway
      
• “It's unacceptable that students at UNT are being harassed for their political beliefs. University leaders have a duty to protect all students. While holding them personally liable may present legal challenges, it underscores the need for serious accountability when they fail to ensure campus safety.” – Sharla Miles
      
• “It is important that university leadership inspire learning, investigation and debate.  When they allow gang-style bullying (usually instigated by professors) they lose sight of their role as mentors and educators.” – Arthur Potter
      
• “Colleges are supposed to be an institution of learning, sharing ideas, and when one side is completely stifled and threatened, teachers and administrators need to be held accountable.” – Debbie Jacobs
      
• “Physically attacking a person or damaging their property because of a disagreement is not free speech.” – George Lautenschlager

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