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On Sept. 8, a viral video showing a student confronting a Texas A&M University professor over gender identity content in a children’s literature course sparked backlash that escalated to the highest tiers of state government.

State Rep. Brian Harrison , a Midlothian Republican and Texas A&M alum, called it “transgender and DEI indoctrination.”

Gov. Greg Abbott demanded her termination a day later.

Within hours of those calls, the dean and English department’s head were demoted and Melissa McCoul, the professor in question, fired . A&M's President Mark A. Welsh III, who backtracked on his initial defense of the professor, is also facing calls to resign

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