The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court decision that permitted West Texas A&M University to ban drag shows on its campus, ruling that the university’s actions violated students’ constitutional rights to free expression.
The dispute began in March 2023, when Spectrum WT, an LGBT student organization, sought to host a charity drag performance to raise funds for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention efforts. The event was abruptly canceled by WT President Walter Wendler, who argued that drag “exaggerates aspects of womanhood” and stereotypes women “in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others.” Wendler maintained that the performances were inherently discriminatory and therefore inappropriate for a public university setting.
In response, Spectrum WT, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), filed suit against Wendler and other Texas A&M System officials. FIRE argued that the university’s decision amounted to censorship, warning that allowing administrators to suppress artistic or political expression sets a dangerous precedent for free speech on campus. “Public colleges and universities must be beacons of free expression, not Orwellian conformity centers,” FIRE Senior Attorney JT Morris said at the time.
A federal district court sided with WT last year, allowing the ban to remain in effect. The student group then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, but the justices declined to take up the emergency request. The case returned to the 5th Circuit, where a three-judge panel heard oral arguments in May 2024.
In its ruling issued Monday, the appeals court determined that the university’s continued refusal to permit drag shows created a “substantial threat of irreparable harm” to the students’ First Amendment rights. “In light of the March 2024 show’s cancellation, and the representation at oral argument that no drag shows will be permitted, we conclude the plaintiffs have shown” that an injunction is warranted, the court wrote.
FIRE quickly hailed the decision as a major win for campus speech. “This is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors,” Morris said in a press release.
Not all members of the panel agreed. In a dissent, Judge James Ho criticized the ruling for affording greater constitutional protection to drag performances than to religious expression. “If university officials allow men to act as women in campus events like drag shows, they may feel compelled to allow men to act as women in other campus events as well — like women’s sports,” Ho warned.
WT declined to comment on the decision, citing the ongoing litigation.
The controversy is part of a broader political and cultural battle across Texas. Earlier this year, the Texas A&M Board of Regents voted to cancel drag shows at all 11 campuses within the system, arguing that such events are incompatible with the mission of a taxpayer-funded institution. Advocates counter that the sweeping ban represents a direct attack on LGBTQ+ expression and student autonomy.
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