Texas college students report increase in harassment, mistreatment...

[Jessica_Rose]

Texas college students report increase in harassment, mistreatment amid academic LGBTQ+ crackdown

https://www.advocate.com/news/texas-college-harassment-transgender 🔗

Jacob Ogles (21 Oct 2025)

Transgender and nonbinary students in Texas say they have seen increased intolerance and harassment as the state cracks down on instruction about gender.

Several spoke to the Texas Tribune about seeing a new level of personal mistreatment from individuals who openly reject their gender identities, all while support programs see cuts.

"I know I could be a lot better off if I lived somewhere I wasn't considered a monster," a Texas Tech student identified as Beth told the news outlet.

That's a shift as Texas Tech over the last decade served as a refuge for LGBTQ+ students. A Gay-Straight Alliance a decade ago rallied around the queer community following the theft of rainbow flags on campus. But signs of that period of acceptance appear to be eroding.

The place that once hosted Lubbock Pride now goes unused, 10 years after the organization hosted the first Texas Tech Pride Week. In 2018, the school hosted the first Big 12 LGBTQIA Allies Summit, but the last such event was promoted in 2023, more than two years ago.

Other students, some of whose names were not reported, said the on-campus environment at Texas campuses had become "increasingly more hostile" over the last two years.

That's a period that coincides with a rapid uptick in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Texas, something that prompted Campus Pride in 2023 to stop recommending LGBTQ+ students attend colleges or universities in the state.

[Lori Dee]

Some people just don't get it.

You can't make something go away by not talking about it. If it isn't allowed to be discussed, bigotry goes unopposed. By allowing discussions, promoting discourse, you promote understanding and acceptance.

Texas learning institutions apparently are not interested in having students understand, but just follow orders.