Academic Appeasement Undermines Freedom

By Winston Chu Nov. 12, 2025

Leona Hung Art

Halfway through a university lecture at Texas A&M, a student silently takes out her phone. As the professor projects a gender unicorn graphic to discuss gender identity, expression and sexuality, the student makes her move—pressing record, she exclaims, “I am not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching, because according to our president, there are only two genders.” After a brief back-and-forth, the professor asks the student to leave the class. Before long, this seemingly small conflict escalates beyond the classroom into a fierce battle of politics and control. 

This scene unfolded during the summer semester in ENGL 360: Literature for Children at Texas A&M University. Dr. Melissa McCoul and her class were discussing the novel “Jude Saves the World,” featuring a 12-year-old navigating being nonbinary. Though the class was cancelled after the confrontation, McCoul started teaching again the next semester after being defended by Texas A&M President Mark Welsh III. Nevertheless, once a Republican state representative heard the news and demanded firings, Welsh III quickly terminated McCoul, citing content inconsistent with the course description. Since then, Welsh III has also resigned from his position as president of Texas A&M. 

“Teachers should not be penalized for teaching topics that are controversial because they often come with important implications. If a teacher got in trouble for teaching something, I would feel scared to express what I truly believe,” Senior Shreya Manu said. 

Ironically though, the course description for ENGL 360 stated that students would “tease out the boundaries of this capacious category” of children’s “picture books, poetry, contemporary novels, historical fiction, and fantasy.” Why? To “think critically about what these books can tell us about how we (and others) understand childhood” and how they “participate in larger movements of history, culture, and literature.” Under these guidelines, McCoul’s novels and discussions regarding gender and sexuality clearly fall under the guidelines. For many, children’s literature about these topics would tease the boundaries of what is considered "traditional" and certainly reflect a larger movement of history and culture. 

It is likely that Welsh III defended McCoul for the same rationale, justifying her actions. But much like an UNO reverse card, once the political mandates started flying in, he quickly folded and fired her from the university. Texas A&M’s decision indicates a clear surrender to political pressure and Trump’s education mandates. In doing so, it not only compromises the education of the students at the university, but also sends a clear message to the current administration that some universities will bend to their will.  

Universities will continue to be put to the test as they face Trump’s recently released Compact for Academic Excellence, requiring universities to abolish programs that are deemed hostile to conservative ideas. Simply put, it is a threat: universities must either adhere to federal standards or risk losing their funding. 

“Teachers should be able to talk about sensitive topics for the purpose of education, but they should not be providing their own opinions because that is not their job. Providing factual information is what allows students to use critical thinking and form their own opinions,” Junior Emma Huang said. 

However, other universities have been fighting against the unprecedented threats to academic freedom. The University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have rejected the compact, refusing to compromise their educational integrity. 

Ultimately, universities are places where people can learn about the world, even if the content may be deemed sensitive. After all, what topics, if not controversial, are worth discussing? What is there to learn from analyzing the obvious? And if university is the time for legal adults to engage in discussion about crucial topics some are trying to erase, then when is?

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About the Contributors

Winston Chu

Staff Writer

Winston Chu is a senior at Leland High School and the Managing Editor for The Charger Account. Over the summer, he went abroad to teach English to elementary school students in Taiwan. His hobbies include skiing and speaking, and he hopes to get better at playing pool.

Leona Hung

Artist