On October 17, Texas Christian University announced it would close its Women and Gender Studies (WGST) and Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) departments, folding what remains of the programs into the English department. The official reason given was “low enrollment.” But I know what this decision really means. I know because I’ve watched my university abandon my colleagues, then me, and now entire fields of study—all while extremists documented every capitulation as proof that public harassment campaigns can and do reshape higher education in Texas.
In July 2023, my WGST colleague Nino Testa received death threats severe enough that campus police instructed him to leave. His crime? Teaching a course on the art of drag. Over 200 faculty members signed a petition asking Texas Christian University (TCU) to publicly support LGBTQ+ faculty and students. The administration refused.
In August 2024, it was my turn. Conservative activists, including two elected Tarrant County officials, publicly called for my firing over social media posts made before I even worked at TCU. Local extremists called my work with CRES “anti-white.” Within days, my home address was published online. Death threats arrived in my work email inbox…