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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
LGBTQ student group sues Texas A&M over campus drag show ban | Houston Public Media
The lawsuit comes after the Board of Regents banned drag shows from the school's 11 public campuses.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
LGBTQ student group sues Texas A&M over campus drag show ban
The lawsuit comes after the Board of Regents banned drag shows from the school’s 11 public campuses.
Raquel Blake dances during the Whose Game is it Anyway drag show Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at The Round-Up Saloon and Dance Hall in Dallas.
A student LGBTQ+ organization is suing Texas A&M University over its newly adopted policy banning drag performances on its public campuses.
The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of the Queer Empowerment Council, a coalition of student groups at Texas A&M University-College Station. The lawsuit aims to block the university from enforcing the policy, which the school's Board of Regents unanimously approved last week.
The ban halts all drag performances on A&M's 11 public campuses, including the annual "Draggieland" event, which has been held on the College Station campus since 2020.
In its resolution, the Board of Regents deemed drag shows "inconsistent with the system's mission and core values," arguing that the performances "involve conduct that demeans women" and could create a "hostile environment."
Attorneys with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the organization representing the student coalition, argue that the ban constitutes unconstitutional censorship.
"Public universities can't shut down student expression simply because the administration doesn't like the ‘ideology' or finds the expression ‘demeaning,'" said FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh. "That's true not only of drag performances, but also religion, COVID, race, politics, and countless other topics where campus officials are too often eager to silence dissent."
Opponents of the drag ban have planned an on-campus "Day of Drag" protest for Thursday and say they remain committed to holding Draggieland, even if forced to move it off-campus.
"Drag is self-expression, drag is discovery, drag is empowerment, and no amount of censorship will silence us," read a statement from the Queer Empowerment Council. "We are committed to ensuring that our voices are heard, and that Draggieland will go on, no matter the obstacles we face."
Just sayin': OK, I know nobody is surprised; but who actually knew that aTm had an annual "Draggieland" event?
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I remember when you went to college to learn, get a degree, and drink beer on the weekends.
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I was about to say the Thompson isn't located there, then warm memories of the actual Library flooded back to me. My memory may not be the same because of the Library and Varsity. It was kind of a running thing with professors to ask how much time you spent at the Library OR the library for the class. Never failed to get an awkward laugh.
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Nutriaitch
Retired Super Hero
it usually starts on Jan 1 and continues through Dec. 31 every year.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
:focal(0x0:3000x1996)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/16618fba1ff8923059d05b3dd139deda/0306%20Draggieland%20Ban%20Protest%20IS%2011.jpg)
Texas A&M can’t ban “Draggieland” drag show, federal judge rules
Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
www.texastribune.org
Texas A&M can’t ban “Draggieland” drag show, federal judge rules
:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/16618fba1ff8923059d05b3dd139deda/0306%20Draggieland%20Ban%20Protest%20IS%2011.jpg)
Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Texas A&M University System from enforcing a ban on drag shows being held at its special event venues.
The ruling allowed Draggieland, an event scheduled for March 27 at the flagship university’s Rudder Theatre in College Station, to go on as planned.
Draggieland is an annual pageant where contestants wear clothing or makeup that often, but does not always, run counter to their expected gender identity. The contestants dance and answer questions afterward about what drag and LGBTQ culture means to them. It has repeatedly sold out the 750-seat venue since it started in 2020.
In her March 24 ruling, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
“Anyone who finds the performance or performers offensive has a simple remedy: don’t go,” Rosenthal wrote.
The students said while their fight isn’t over, they were overjoyed by the decision and vowed to share that joy by putting on the best show possible.
Plaintiff’s argument
The Queer Empowerment Council sued after the system’s board of regents passed a resolution Feb. 28 banning drag performances across all 11 campuses. The council argued that the public universities are not allowed to censor student performances based on their personal dislike of its content or perceived ideology.Defendant’s argument
The regents said they were trying to comply with recent executive orders issued by President Donald J. Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott telling agencies not to promote “gender ideology” or else they could lose funding from the federal and state government.
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