Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh announced the dismissal of a dean and a department head after a viral video in which a student appears to be asked to leave class for disagreeing with transgenderism.
Shortly thereafter, the professor herself was also fired.
The video, shared by Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison on Monday, showed the student confronting Dr. Melissa McCoul during a class about children’s literature, asserting that her course materials disobeyed Trump administration executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Thinking that homosexuality or queer people are always ‘x-rated’ is an effect of heteronormativity, the idea that heterosexual or straight is normal as well as normative,” the slide said, according to a report from the Daily Wire.
🚨CAUGHT ON TAPE: TEXAS A&M STUDENT KICKED OUT OF CLASS AFTER OBJECTING TO TRANSGENDER INDOCTRINATION… and A&M President defends “LGBTQ Studies.”
I’m referring @TAMU to the Trump Administration for investigation… and asking Gov @GregAbbott_TX to fire the A&M officials… pic.twitter.com/J6IWsfw62I
— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) September 8, 2025
“This also goes against, not only myself, but a lot of people’s religious beliefs,” the student remarked. “And so I am not going to participate in this because it’s not legal.”
As the exchange continued, McCoul told the student, “It’s time for you to leave.”
Harrison sounded the alarm about the materials with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon responded to the viral video on Monday, calling the footage “deeply concerning” and saying that her department would “look into this.”
Several hours later, Texas A&M issued a statement on behalf of Welsh, revealing that he had “directed the provost to remove the dean and department head from their administrative positions, effective immediately.”
“I learned this afternoon that key leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description,” Welsh said.
“Our students use the published information in the course catalog to make important decisions about the courses they take in pursuit of their degrees,” he added.
“If we allow different course content to be taught from what is advertised, we let our students down. When it comes to our academic offerings, we must keep our word to our students and to the state of Texas.”
A statement from Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III:
I learned this afternoon that key leaders in the College of Arts and Sciences approved plans to continue teaching course content that was not consistent with the course’s published description. As a result, I… pic.twitter.com/jj9sk0e0ni
— Texas A&M University (@TAMU) September 9, 2025
McCoul was also terminated on Tuesday, according to a report from NBC News.
Amanda Reichek, a lawyer for the professor, said that McCoul was told to change her course “to align with the catalog description and the course description that was originally submitted and approved,” but that she refused.
“In fact, Dr. McCoul taught this course and others like it for many years, successfully and without challenge. Instead, Dr. McCoul was fired in derogation of her constitutional rights and the academic freedom that was once the hallmark of higher education in Texas. She has appealed her termination and is exploring further legal action,” Reichek said in a statement.
Harrison had previously told the Daily Wire that the professor was “absolutely engaged in transgender indoctrination.”
“This is one of the clearest and most disgusting examples of taxpayer abuse and the weaponization of Texans’ tax money against them, against their values, against their children,” Harrison asserted to the outlet.
President Donald Trump had signed an executive order on the first day of his second term making clear, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”
“These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” the order added. “Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy.”
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