Texas Tech Memos Prompt Faculty Self-Censorship; Cancel Culture vs. Censorship Examined
In a Glasstire opinion piece, a Texas Tech University PhD student argues that recent administrative directives at Texas universities constitute censorship, distinct from cancel culture. The author cites a December 1, 2025 memorandum by Chancellor Brandon Creighton requiring faculty to report course content on race, sex, transgenderism, or sexual orientation, and an April 9, 2026 memorandum discontinuing scholarships and programs focused on sexual orientation or gender identity. These follow Texas laws SB 17, SB 37, and SB 2972, which eliminated DEI initiatives, reorganized university governance, and limited free expression. The author notes the closures of Women's and Gender Studies programs at Texas A&M, University of North Texas, and UT Austin, and the AAUP lawsuit against Creighton and the Board of Regents. The piece distinguishes censorship (by powerful institutions) from cancelling (a tool of the marginalized, per Meredith D. Clark) and cancel culture (popular outrage). It cites examples of censorship in the arts, including the cancellation of Victor 'MARKA27' Quiñonez's exhibition at UNT, the removal of Sally Mann photographs in Fort Worth, and the defunding of Lubbock's First Friday Art Trail. The author concludes that censorship, unlike cancel culture, rewrites history and consolidates power, and urges consideration of alternative views.
Key facts
- Texas Tech University Chancellor Brandon Creighton issued a memorandum on December 1, 2025, requiring faculty to report course content on race, sex, transgenderism, or sexual orientation.
- A second memorandum dated April 9, 2026, discontinued scholarships and programs using sexual orientation or gender identity as a central topic.
- Texas laws SB 17, SB 37, and SB 2972 have eliminated DEI initiatives, reorganized university governance, and limited free expression on campuses.
- Women's and Gender Studies programs were closed at Texas A&M, University of North Texas, and University of Texas at Austin.
- The American Association of University Professors is suing Chancellor Creighton and the Texas Tech Board of Regents over free speech violations.
- Victor 'MARKA27' Quiñonez's exhibition at University of North Texas was cancelled in February 2026; NPR covered it on July 12, 2026.
- Sally Mann's photographs were seized by police from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in 2025.
- Lubbock City Council defunded the First Friday Art Trail in 2024 over LGBTQIA programming.
- The author cites Meredith D. Clark's definition of cancelling as 'an expression of agency, a choice to withdraw one's attention.'
- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression estimates 184 campus deplatforming attempts in 2025 and 170 in 2026.
Entities
Artists
- Victor 'MARKA27' Quiñonez
- Sally Mann
- Katrina Majkut
- ODEE
- Dani Collette
- Allora McCullough
- Spider Martin
Institutions
- Texas Tech University
- Texas A&M University
- University of North Texas
- University of Texas at Austin
- American Association of University Professors
- Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
- Lubbock City Council
- National Coalition Against Censorship
- Pew Research Center
- ACLU
- Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
- Glasstire
- NPR
- The Guardian
- Pittsburgh Arts Council
- Craft Alliance
- Lewis-Clark State College
- Georgetown Law
- Rutgers University
- Arcellx
- Hussman School of Journalism and Media
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Jewish Journal
- American Progress
- BBC
- CNN
- Texas Tribune
- Dallas Weekly
- AAUP Texas
- Inside Higher Ed
- Higher Ed Dive
- Varsity
- AP News
- Hyperallergic
- For Freedoms
- Stonewall National Monument
- Meta
- X (formerly Twitter)
- YouTube
Locations
- Texas
- Lubbock
- Fort Worth
- Austin
- College Station
- Denton
- Netherlands
- Alaska
- Mount McKinley
- Denali
- St. Louis
- Idaho
- Washington, D.C.
- United States